The Battousai's Return
by krystalMage
Summary: AU. NEW CHAPTER! Kenshin kidnaps Kaoru, using her as bait to find the truth about what happened to Shishio. His bid to investigate his former comrade's murder and betrayal turns dangerous when he finds someone else eliminating those that killed him. BKK.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Modern day AU. When Kenshin finds out that Shishio has been betrayed by the Ishin Shishi, he returns to avenge his former comrade's murder by hunting down the men who condemned him to death. But when someone beats him to the kill, he realizes that there is more than meets the eye. BK.

**Disclaimer:** Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro. I lay no claim on its characters, and events. The situations described in this story are however, mine.

**Rating:** T for violence and slight, very slight limes.

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**The Battousai's Return**

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Music blared from the speakers and lights danced crazily in the dark, smoky club where he waited for his quarry. He stood in a corner on the upper level of the club, watching and waiting for tonight's victim to show up. The spot afforded him a view of the entire place, most importantly, he could see the main doors to the club, and no one could enter or leave without him knowing. As he leaned forward on the balustrade, an attractive girl standing to his right slunk up to his side, and lifting her lips to his ears whispered a breathless invitation. He turned to her, making his disinterest clear and hoping she would leave it at that, and not bother him further.

The target hadn't arrived yet. Where was she? She was supposed to have been here twenty minutes ago. He could see her pitiful little friends waiting at one of tables ringing the dance floor. A tall, attractive guy with spiky hair lounged in a chair, checking his watch from time to time, next to him, a beautiful girl with jet black hair leaned against him, their hands and fingers entwined, across them a small, perky girl with a braid that reached till her hips. All of them were waiting for her but she hadn't yet arrived.

He swept his eyes across the crowd of swaying, gyrating people in the club. Nothing. He recalled the data in the dossier once more.

Target's name: Kamiya Kaoru

Age: 17

Occupation: Student of International Affairs at the University of Tokyo

Hair color: Blue-black

Eye color: Midnight blue

Height: 5 feet 2 inches

Legal Guardian: Kogoro Katsura

The photograph attached to the papers in the dossiers had shown her laughing, unaware of a person trailing her, following her every move. She had been under surveillance for over two months now. There had been someone following her, and making note of her habits, her likes, dislikes, hell he even knew what she had for breakfast. Finally, tonight was the night that he would make his move. Everything would go according to plan and there would no mistake. He couldn't afford to make a mistake, not now, not with her. She was the key to the whole mystery.

She was the only thing he could bargain with. The only thing that could bring him answers. Answers he sought desperately, answers he needed to gain his peace of mind again. A peace, bought at such a high price, that was in danger of shattering, destroying everything he had stood for, every promise he had made, every lie he had believed to bring the Ishin Shishi to power. Should she reveal what he feared, everything would be negated.

And he….he would be reduced to a mere pawn; he would no longer remain a revolutionary, a patriot but become no better than a hired thug. He gripped the glass in front of him. No! That would not happen. This was all a mistake. It had to be! All those sacrifices, all those lives, they hadn't been taken in vain, they hadn't! They had a meaning. They had a purpose. He had a meaning, a purpose. He released the glass, and turned back to the door. He didn't have to wait long.

She was here. As he leaned forward to get a better look, he raised his eyebrows. That picture had nothing on her. This girl was gorgeous. She wore a black dress that ended about two inches above her knees, showing off a pair of fantastic legs. The neckline tauntingly revealed the rise of her breasts and the gauze sleeves just covered her shoulders, leaving her arms bare. He let out a slow breath.

She crossed over to where her friends sat, sliding in beside the small girl. The table soon erupted in laughter as the foursome eagerly shared the details of their days. Kenshin leaned against the wall, and simply watched. He was happy enough just to look at her, sweeping his eyes over her, drinking her laughter, her smiles. Soon, she would feel his gaze upon her, she would look up, notice him and it would be time for the game to begin.

He moved to a table clean across the room from her's but one where he could watch without any impediment. He waited.

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Kaoru threw her head back and laughed. She felt only slightly light headed; the vodka was slowly working on her. As Sano refilled her glass, she felt it again. A distinct prickling all over her body, as if some one was watching her. The feeling had been there since she stepped into the club but what was it? She felt it again, this time more sharply than ever before. She raised her head and looked around, searchingly.

As she turned her head towards the dance floor, she caught a glimpse of a man, sitting at the far end of the room, watching her. Her eyes widened as their eyes suddenly locked. She looked away immediately. A feeble blush was fighting its way up her throat. She decidedly kept looking at the table till her curiosity got better of her and she turned around once more, only to find the man still looking at her, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He had blood red hair and his eyes smouldered violet; his lips curled into a slow smile as he watched her watching him.

Flustered she looked away again. She frowned. What the hell was wrong with her anyway? Guys always stared at her, she was used to it and this was a club, of all places. Normally, she didn't even bother giving them a second glance so why was she so concerned about this one? _Because he's a total babe_ said the annoying voice inside her head. She shook her head. Gods! She was beginning to sound like Misao. It had to be the vodka.

She looked up as Megumi dragged Sano away to dance. Misao stared longingly at them, moulded together, swaying to the rhythm of the music. She sighed. "Kaoru, why can't I have that? Is there something wrong with me? Am I ugly, or worse, boring?"

Kaoru snapped her head towards Misao, "what are you talking about? Where's this coming from?"

Misao sighed. "I just don't understand. Why two women as gorgeous and fun as us are alone on Saturday night?"

"Well, I wanted to be alone; you on the other hand turned down at least two dates. So why don't you think about that?" Kaoru sipped her drink, fighting the temptation to turn to look at that red-haired god again. While Misao started enumerating her reasons for refusing her dates, Kaoru shyly stole another look towards the redhead's table. She sat up straight. It was empty. He was gone!

Kaoru felt like kicking herself. You idiot! You should've gone and talked to him, at least asked him for a dance. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…

"Hi. Care for a dance?" A voice broke through her self-curse rant. She looked up. It was him! He hadn't gone. The vodka was definitely doing things to her since she smiled, recklessly, flirtatiously and took his hand, even as Misao watched dumbfounded with her mouth open. "Ummm…sure".

He clasped her hand firmly and pulled her out of her chair. Kaoru found herself unable to tear her eyes away from his as he pulled her to the centre of the floor, surrounded by warm bodies, lost in the heat of dance and sensation.

He pulled her towards himself, and she followed, pressing her body flush against his. She wound her arms around his neck; he put an arm around her waist and dug his fingers gently into her hair, enjoying the silky feel of it. He moved his face closer, gently stroking her neck with his chin. She gasped as he dropped a feathery light kiss on her throat. She looked at him as he smiled, "Oh I'm sorry but I couldn't resist."

"Do you always do that?"

"Do what"

"Apologize for things you aren't supposed to do, but you do anyways."

"Does this count as a thing I'm not supposed to do?"

"Of course it does!" He cocked his head to one side and grinned, "Really?"

"Yes, really! You just kissed me and I don't even know your name!"

"I would hardly call that a kiss."

"What are you talking about? I" She never finished the sentence. Before she could guess what he was about to do, a hot mouth claimed her lips, softly invading them, tugging gently at her lower lip. His tongue gently teased the sensitive skin of her mouth, coaxing her to part her lips. Kaoru was too shocked to resist. By the time, she came to her senses and realized she was standing in the middle of the dance floor letting a complete stranger ravish her lips again and again; she was enjoying the kiss too much to stop it.

He maneuvered their way out of the crowd. Kaoru let out a moan of protest as he stopped kissing her. He smiled, and stroked her cheek with his fingers. He pushed her against a wall and began to rain kisses on her throat. His hands clasped hers and his thumbs traced round patterns on the palms of her hands. As his fingers began to massage her neck gently, she leaned against him and threw her arms around him, propping her head on his shoulders.

"What's the matter sweet?" He asked as she refused to move her head from his shoulder and snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"Too noisy and my head's spinning." He laughed. "It's not the club darling, it's you. I think I should've taken things a little slowly, you're completely out of breath".

Her head was spinning. She just wanted to sleep. She looked up at him, imploringly, "I'm tired. I wanna go home". He tilted her face upward, and softly brushed her lips with his own, moving his tongue over them before thoroughly kissing her. Kaoru's knees buckled and she clutched at him for support. When he broke away, his eyes weren't violet any longer. They were like two flaming pools of gold. Lust shone through his eyes as he stared intently at her. Kaoru drew a deep breath and moved away, less sure of the situation than she had been.

The moment passed as soon as it had come. He looked away and mumbled, "I'm sorry about this." Kaoru began to unravel her arms from his neck; he swept a hand forward and pressed a handkerchief to her face. Her hold slackened and she slid from his grasp, she would have crashed onto the floor, had he not knelt immediately and scooped her up in his arms.

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He stood over her, watching her limp form on the bed. The effect of the drug would be over shortly, he had handcuffed her to a bedpost. He knelt next to her, and gently traced her jaw with one finger. He sat there, silently for a few minutes before walking away. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Katsura." He rasped.

"B-Battousai". A voice stammered from the other end of the line.

"I have the girl. Now, you ready to sing or not?"

**Author's Notes**

Right, I really need reviews on this because I want to know what you guys think so far. This is just a little idea I had and wanted to explore, let's see how far I can take this, but please review!

This is a modern day AU, so there is bound to be some major OOC-ness especially regarding certain characters. If you have doubts, please ask! I'll be happy to clear them. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes all is not as it seems. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I just like to spin stories about the characters.

**Rating**: T

**The Battousai's Return**

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**Chapter Two**

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**Recap**

He stood over her, watching her limp form on the bed. The effect of the drug would be over shortly, he had handcuffed her to a bedpost. He knelt next to her, and gently traced her jaw with one finger. He sat there, silently for a few minutes before walking away. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Katsura." He rasped.

"B-Battousai". A voice stammered from the other end of the line.

"I have the girl. Now, you ready to sing or not?"

**End of Recap**

The silence across the line stretched into minutes. Kenshin waited patiently. He was in no hurry. Hurrying implied low confidence and nervous, and he was neither low on confidence nor nervous. Although he was beginning to feel very uneasy about his former role in the Ishin Shishi, his modus operandi was too refined and disciplined to change. He could wait. There was a faint shuffle at the other end. Katsura was probably fumbling in his robes for his inhaler. A few hasty clicks and deep breaths later the conversation was alive once again.

"B…Battousai?"

"Well _hello_ Dorothy! Thank you for waking up. Although I must admit, I'm getting very impatient with you." Kenshin leaned back in his chair and propped his legs up on the table. The apartment was a small but luxurious studio on top of one of the most exclusive buildings in Tokyo. From his vantage point, he could see the door leading outside, and more importantly the bed where Kaoru's limp form was resting.

"For heaven's sake Battousai, don't…don't hurt her." Katsura's voice trembled. Kenshin smirked.

"No?"

"Battousai…I beg you. She's the only family I have."

"Really? How touching. Lucky for her she's got nothing of you in her, otherwise I'd be having a tough time about not killing her", he lied effortlessly.

"Please…please don't hurt her."

"I'd love to say I won't but unless you get ready to tell me what I want to know, I can't make any promises."

"I'll do it! I'll …tell you whatever you want to know but…well…I…"

Kenshin lifted an eyebrow in surprise. _I didn't think he had the guts to refuse me_. "But you what?" His voice became dangerously cold. Katsura swallowed and clutched his inhaler.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know but I want to see my niece first." He let out a heavy breath. _There. I said it._

"No."

"Wha…what? Why?"

"Too many questions Katsura. You're forgetting I'm the one asking the questions here." Kenshin was beginning to get annoyed.

"I'm sorry. Sorry! I just wanted to make sure she's alright." Katsura pressed the receiver hard against his ears, hoping the pain would help him stop shaking. He was terrified. What could he do against a man like the Battousai? The man feared nothing and no one. He was insane. Any man who was so beyond the boundaries of control was insane.

"First, you will tell me everything I want to know then, I'll decide if the info is worth the trouble of returning her or even keeping her alive."

"No! I'll make it worth your while! Just let me see me niece, Battousai! Battousai!". Kenshin calmly switched the phone off even as Katsura's hoarse shouting dimly reached his ears. He tossed the phone carelessly on the floor. _Let him scream. Let him spend the night wracking his brains, trying to find answers. For a change. _Katsura had given him more than his share of hell while he was still a principle Hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi. It was time for payback.

It had been a long night. He was tired and needed a shower. He stood up and his eyes wandered back to his captive. She had shifted during his conversation with Katsura. She now lay facedown, his hair in a mess and her skirt hitched way above her knees. She looked positively sinful. _Shower!!_ He shook his head. _Cold shower. Right now_. Pulling his shirt over his head he swiftly marched to the bathroom. He emerged an hour later, smelling faintly of pine trees. Kaoru had now curled up into a ball. Kenshin took a blanket from the closet and spread it over her legs. It was warm in the apartment but the sight of her like this wasn't going to help his thoughts.

He knelt beside the bed, silently observing the sleeping girl. He hadn't planned on kissing her, that had just happened. He didn't know what had gotten into him. He had acted entirely on impulse. The plan had been to follow her from the club and kidnap her before she reached home. But all that had changed the minute he saw her. He wanted her to see him, to watch him even as he watched her. He was delighted when she responded as she did.

And that kiss. Her lips had felt so soft against his, her mouth so ready and relaxed. But he knew he had to stop it before it got out of hand. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. _I wish you didn't have to see this side of me. If only I could be just Kenshin, and nothing else. I wish…in some other time and place…I wish…I wish._

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Morning came and a grey mist descended over the city. Thick rain clouds blocked the sun's rays from hitting the earth. The sky was white, interrupted by patches of dark grey. The wind had picked up and it now played with the curtains, pushing past them to enter the apartment and touch Kenshin's face.

_There was blood everywhere. His hands were caked with it. The warmth in his hair wasn't heat but the blood that had spattered from his target's body. He turned the tap on, thrusting his hands under the steady stream of water. He rubbed his hands vigorously, slapping on a soap-free solution generously. He scrubbed and scrubbed but somehow…the blood never washed off. He was desperate now. He let out a scream of anguish as the stains of blood spread instead of getting washed away. They spread over his hands onto his arms, running up…._He opened his eyes with a start.

After a few moments he realized that it was morning and the dream had ended. He looked around with a weary expression on his face. He yawned and stood up shakily. Sleeping propped up against the wall hadn't been one of his better ideas. His neck and legs were stiff, his back felt sore and his rear was numb. He reached behind his neck and rubbed vigorously between his shoulder blades. All that succeeded in doing was to make the dull ache in his spine even more pronounced. Kenshin groaned as his eyes shut once more. They flew open immediately after. _If I'm feeling so uncomfortable, how is she coping with it?_ He turned around and looked at the girl handcuffed to the bed. She showed no signs of waking soon although she had made short work of the blanket which now lay bunched around her ankles. He let out a relieved breath. _Well at least she's not feeling uneasy…hey wait a minute, back up for a second. I'm the one who kidnapped her. She's the key to finding the answers that I seek. That's it. Nothing more. Get a grip on yourself Kenshin. _

A loud knock on the door caught his attention. He walked over to the door, smoothly pulling a gun out of a holster strapped to his shin. He was a swordsman but he'd learnt long ago that having a gun meant living and winning a fight first. He could easily defend himself with a sword, even at close range against bullets but he had lost too many comrades to the bullets he dodged to worry about the integrity of a swordsman using a gun. And besides, he was a Hitokiri. Hitokiri kill. They do not fall to bullets. Hitokiri shoot first and ask questions later. He reached the door and looked through the eye hole. He rolled his eyes and opened the door. Grabbing his morning guest by the arm, he pulled her in rather roughly.

"Hey! That's my arm, Himura! It's not a piece of wood." Kenshin pushed her further inside the apartment and locked the door again.

"Why are you here?" He said without preamble.

"Gee, thanks for the welcome. You could look a little happy to see me. It wouldn't kill you."

"Were you followed?"

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to get followed?"

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"Now that is just cruel Himura."

"Well?"

"No. I was not followed. That's why I'm here." She glared at him. Kenshin smirked. He casually walked past her, ruffling her hair.

"Hey stop that. This is no way to treat a member of the Oniwabanshu." Kenshin considered her for a moment, his eyes wide. And ruffled her hair once more. "Will you cut it OUT Himura!"

"Alright. Why are you here?"

"I came to check on Kaoru. I hope she's not freaking out." Misao tugged her coat off and unwound a long navy blue scarf from around he neck. She stopped short when she spotted her friend for four months handcuffed to Kenshin's bed, her hair tangled, the zipper on her dress half slid open, revealing a smooth back, the hem of her dress rising high on her thighs. Misao noticed the blanket curled up at her feet. She picked it up and quickly threw it over her unconscious body. She then turned to Kenshin, her eyes gleaming.

"Well! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been enjoying yourself, Himura."

"Hardly. She's been unconscious all night. I couldn't enjoy myself even if I wanted to. And rape is really not my thing." He met her eyes squarely. Misao dropped her gaze and looked away.

"I didn't think it was. But what the hell was that little performance you pulled last night. I had no clue you were going to approach her. I almost choked. You changed the plan at the last minute!"

"Were you surprised?" Kenshin nursed a cup of coffee and seemed very amused.

"Don't kid me around Himura. I almost blew my cover."

"Now why would a star Oniwabanshu operative like you do that?"

"Himura. Don't change the subject."

"I'm not changing the subject."

"Then explain yourself."

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"C'mon Himura! I think you owe it to me."

"Do I?"

"I am this close," Misao pinched her forefinger and thumb together, "to beating the crap out of you."

Kenshin laughed uproariously. "You? Beat the crap out of me? Get real Misao."

"Just tell me dammit!"

"Shhhh….you'll wake her up."

"So what? Even if I do wake her up, you can always kiss her and then slap some chloroform on her."

"Such insensitivity, Misao. And you were her friend for four months at least."

"Whatever. What was the deal with all the kissing and the making out on the dance floor, eh Himura?"

Kenshin was silent. He stared at his coffee, completely drowning out Misao's voice.

"Oh. My. God. Don't tell me. No fucking way."

Kenshin turned and started cutting an apple.

"You like her!"

"…"

"You. Like her."

"What are you babbling about? Have you completely gone insane?"

"You're attracted to her aren't you? That's why you were turning on the charm and the sexy smiles because I sure as hell haven't seen you like that before. Ever."

Kenshin stopped and stared at her incredulously. "How naïve can you get? I was just trying to get her alone. This is a sure shot winner when it comes to sweet, virginal types like her."

Misao raised her eyebrows. "Uh huh. How do you know she's a virgin?"

Kenshin ran his hand through his hair. "I just know, ok? I can tell."

"The hell you can." Misao snorted.

"Misao."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Misao bit back a retort and satisfied herself by poking out her tongue at him. Kenshin responded by setting a plate of fruit in front of her. Misao shrugged and began to eat. She watched as Kenshin quietly tidied up around the apartment. Her interest peaked when he settled down to sharpen his katana. He sat cross-legged on the floor, with a whetting stone in front of him and bent over, painstakingly sharpening the blade. He ignored Misao who sat beside him watching the entire operation with great interest. Half an hour later Kenshin was almost finished. Misao tossed her braid back to notice that Kaoru was stirring. She nudged Kenshin.

"Hey Himura. She's waking up." Kenshin froze for a heartbeat and then jumped into action. He picked up his sword and thrust the whetting stone into Misao's arms. "Here. Put that away in the closet. And get some water. She'll be thirsty."

He sat down on the bed, waiting for her to wake up. She wasn't just any girl. She was the key to all his answers. Kaoru turned till she was facing him. She moved her head slowly from left to right in relative discomfort. She frowned and her eyelids fluttered as they tried to adjust to the light.

As the world reeled back into focus, a splitting pain raced through her head and she saw the beautiful eyes that had seduced her from the safety of her friends last night, in front of her own.

"Hi", a velvety smooth voice spoke, "you're finally awake."

**Author's Notes**

I know this chapter took a long time in coming and I'm really sorry about it. I hope you like it. Read and Review!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes all is not as it seems. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I just like to spin stories about the characters.

**Rating**: T

**The Battousai's Return**

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**Chapter Three**

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**Recap **

He sat down on the bed, waiting for her to wake up. She wasn't just any girl. She was the key to all his answers. Kaoru turned till she was facing him. She moved her head slowly from left to right in relative discomfort. She frowned and her eyelids fluttered as they tried to adjust to the light.

As the world reeled back into focus, a splitting pain raced through her head and she saw the beautiful eyes that had seduced her from the safety of her friends last night, in front of her own.

"Hi", a velvety smooth voice spoke, "you're finally awake."

**End of Recap**

Kaoru blinked. She recognized his face. She tried to open her mouth to speak but her lips stuck together. Her tongue and throat felt parched. She closed her eyes as the pain in her temples throbbed once more.

"Water…" Her voice sounded raw and raspy. Cool fingers cupped her chin and tilted it slightly up. The man held a glass saucer to her lips and gently tipped the contents into her dry mouth. The cool water trickled into her mouth slowly, sliding down her tongue into her throat. Kaoru drank it greedily, eager for more. She heard a soft chuckle as the man refilled the saucer and held it to her lips again.

"Take it easy…the water's not going anywhere."

Kaoru stared at him. She licked her lips and shut her eyes once more. She opened them once again, and blinked in bewilderment when he didn't vanish from her sight. She gazed back blankly at the face leaning over her. It was him. The man she had danced with the night before. And how she had danced, without a care in the world, with complete abandonment. Without realizing what she was doing, she smiled as she remembered tossing glances back and forth, the dancing, that unexpected kiss. Her smile widened and her eyes softened at the memory.

Kenshin was enthralled as he watched the expressions flitting across Kaoru's features. She didn't seem to realize that she was a captive in a stranger's house. Perhaps she didn't realize the fact that she was in a very precarious position right now. She should be shocked, scared, or angry at the very least. Instead, this girl was staring back at him and smiling. She really was astonishing. He had been prepared for screaming, kicking, shouting, and hysterics, but he really hadn't expected to be faced with this. He frowned. The color of his eyes deepened into indigo and even as the smile slowly disappeared from her countenance and her senses joined together in screaming danger, she felt an inexplicable calm.

Not for long. The gentle face of the man who had asked her to dance disappeared beneath a smirking mask. The man who leaned across her pulled his lips into a feral grin, and spoke.

"I was beginning to think you intended to sleep all day."

His voice and words jarred against her nerves. It was not a voice of the man who had swept her off her feet; the smoothness of his voice hid a hardness she had never felt in a man before. She blinked once again, and the dream plunged into a nightmare. Her body stung, like she'd spent the night sleeping on a hard wooden plank. Her sides felt sore and there was a throbbing pain in her wrists. Speaking of which, where were her hands? She suddenly became aware of a blunt ache between her shoulder blades and felt her arms straining. It was only when her elbow hit her face, that she understood that her hands were, in fact, tied by her wrists above her head, effectively explaining the pain she felt in her limbs.

Kaoru's eyes widened in shock. Horror seeped through her veins and pulsated through every cell in her body. She turned sharply on her side, and tried to sit up. The man sat back, calmly watching as she sat up and started to tug at the tape that bound her wrists to the bedpost. She thrashed around, pulling desperately on the tape. She let out a sound of extreme frustration. Her pulse quickened as repeated attempts to pry her hands loose failed. She pulled this way and that. Flailing her arms and legs, trying to break free. Finally she sat still, completely still, without moving a muscle.

Kenshin waited silently for her to speak. He had stopped Misao from jumping forward and helping Kaoru calm down. If Kaoru saw her now, she would be devastated. It was a betrayal that would shatter her. Eventually she would find out that Misao was not her friend, she had never been. Misao's role in this tale was to deliver Kaoru into his hands, and that role was fulfilled. Kaoru would know this soon enough, but there was no reason to shatter her misconception about the petite girl just yet.

He needed Kaoru to understand why she was here. She had to cooperate with him. He had no intention of hurting her. She was free to leave and continue with her life once he had the information he needed. He would never cross her path once that was done. But for that, she would have to do exactly as he asked; there could be no compromise on the issue.

Kaoru lifted her eyes to look at him once again. Cold fury simmered in her eyes. She tossed her head back to get her bangs out of her eyes.

"Where am I?" She spoke coldly. Kenshin smiled. It was a smile without emotion and meaning. The corners of his mouth had simply turned upwards. _So it begins_. He took a deep breath.

"Tokyo. This is just a rented apartment." He stopped. Kaoru waited for him to continue, she leaned her head forward in expectation. But he was finished talking.

She gaped at him incredulously. "That's _it_?" She sputtered. "_That's_ the big explanation? Thanks for letting me know Captain Obvious! Why am I here…and who the hell are you and…. you kidnapped me you jerk! What the hell is wrong with you!"

Kenshin replied silently. "You don't need to know."

"What! Are you out of your mind? You just kidnapped me! Of course I need to know! Who are you! Answer me." Kaoru's voice shook slightly with rage.

He stood and walked over to the table. Pulling the chair out, he sat down, eyes trained relentlessly on Kaoru. "My identity does not matter. The only thing that you need to be concerned with right now is that you will be allowed to leave once I have completed my task. You will not be harmed provided you abide by my rules."

"Why are you doing this? Is this for money? Well, you chose the wrong person. You'll get nothing by it. I'm not even rich."

Kenshin glared at her. Kaoru glared back. _Who the hell does this guy think he is?_ The two of them kept staring at each other venomously for a few moments.

Kaoru frowned. "You're wasting your time with me. Nobody is going to pay you a ransom for me. I don't have any family. You just went and committed a serious crime for nothing. There's no money where I'm coming from, nothing that would interest a kidnapper."

"Be quiet."

"You can still stop this madness. Let me go and perhaps I won't press charges."

Despite his grave demeanor Kenshin found himself controlling an urge to laugh. She really had no idea who she was dealing with. She seemed to think he was some two-bit criminal looking for easy pickings by kidnapping a girl.

But his crimes were far grimmer than that. The things he had done, those crimes were not something he could wash away by spending a few years in prison. His criminality was born from the tears and blood of those he had murdered. Those deaths, mere drops in the oceans of blood he had unleashed in the madness of the Revolution. Atonement, he had believed he could atone for the lives he had taken but…. the truth of those actions would haunt him to his grave. There was no atonement for a man like him. He was a Hitokiri, and would remain one till he died.

He reserved no pity or forgiveness for himself but he needed to know what had happened to the only man who had treated him like a human being. He needed to know what had happened to Shishio. Shishio who was his comrade in arms, his successor, and the silent witness to his tortured nightmares.

Kaoru bent her head. She spoke with a deathly calm voice. "You don't seem to realize, but you're in serious trouble."

Kenshin quirked an eyebrow up. "Is that so?"

"Yes. If I'm not home soon, my friends will call the police. And all the people at the club have seen you. They know your description. When the police start looking around for you, you will be caught in no time."

"Your friends…yes…. that does seem to be a problem." He walked over to the window. "Don't worry about your friends. I've already arranged it so they aren't disturbed by your absence." He turned towards her with a wry smile.

Kaoru froze. The sinister smile on his face chilled her blood. "You didn't…you didn't hurt them, did you?"

He leaned against the wall. His bangs fell across his eyes, but she felt his gaze locked on her. "That all depends doesn't it?"

"You bastard! You're blackmailing me!" She tugged at the tape again.

"No. I'm telling you not to act stupid. Your friends are safe as long as you act like a good girl and don't do anything that would provoke me to show you just how nasty things can get."

"Why are you doing this?"

"…."

"What…could you possibly gain from kidnapping me?"

"…"

"What do you want?"

He stood still, eyes staring away into the distance. The wind blowing in from the window caused his bangs to sway. He seemed oblivious to everything around him. It was as if the reality in which he was living was a distant dream and the dreams of the past his reality. Misao watched in silence as Kaoru's lips trembled, and her voice hitched in her throat. She bent her head, and the strength she had shown till this moment crumbled. Kenshin did not respond.

Misao looked on helplessly as Kaoru cried, softly at first before bursting uncontrollably into sobs. She didn't think any less of her for crying. In fact she was surprised that Kaoru had held out this long. It was natural in her circumstances. Kaoru was angry and confused. She was being used like a pawn on a giant chessboard she couldn't see, in a fight she knew nothing about. If she could, she would tell Kaoru everything but…. she couldn't. Kenshin would never agree to it. She had taken a vow of secrecy. If she broke it, Aoshi would never forgive her. And she couldn't live with that…she just couldn't….

"Miss Kaoru." Kaoru snapped her head up. He was speaking. She didn't how but she knew in her heart that the next few words this man spoke were going to change her life. Forever. "You will not be harmed, no matter what happens. I know you're confused, and angry. You have every right to be. But…. this needed to happen. If I had another way, I would never have used you. But I don't. You can hate me for what I am about to put you through. All I can tell you is that it'll be over soon. And when that happens, you can go back."

"I can go back? Don't give me that crap! Don't…. insult me by telling me that you had no choice. You're just weak!"

Misao clapped her hand over her mouth. She stared at Kaoru in shock. It was over. She had called Kenshin weak…. the Battousai would never allow such an insult to go unpunished. Never. She waited for him to move. She waited for his katana to let loose, for the unfinished scream, the shower of blood.

Nothing happened.

Kenshin didn't even turn around. He just bent his head slightly. "Perhaps. But while you here, you will do what I say."

"Humph! I'm not a puppet. There's no way I'm going to silently go along with whatever you want."

"You will."

"Why?"

"Because you don't want your friends die."

"…."

"You are essential to my plan therefore I can't kill you. Your worthless friends are an entirely different matter."

"You wouldn't dare…"

"You know I do."

"…"

"Don't make it any harder than it is."

"I hate you."

Kenshin swallowed. He looked up at the sky. It seemed bleak. "That's alright." He turned. She looked away.

"Tonight. Tonight you will speak to Kogoro Katsura. Do you understand?"

She heard him. She did not speak. The pain she had felt when she woke died. The numbness that engulfed her after listening to him was more painful. Her dream, the dream that brought him to her strangled her senses. He was the man she had held in her arms last night and yet he wasn't.

He was a criminal. She should hate him. He threatened to kill her friends. She should hate him. He was using her to blackmail her uncle. She should hate him. He tricked her. She should hate him.

So why…why did it feel like a lie?

Why did she see pain in his eyes?

Why did she want to believe that it was all a mistake?

Why did she hope?

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**Author's Notes**

Finally, I get an update out. I am so sorry this took forever to update. I hope it wasn't too disappointing. Please review…. I need to know what you guys are thinking about this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes all is not as it seems. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The situations in this story however, do belong to me.

**Rating**: T

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All my reviewers get double chocolate chip cookies!!! Catch!

**MikaylaMae** – yeah, Kaoru can't get over that. But she's really pissed off so I don't know how long Kenshin has before he gets his act together.

**flaming-amber** – Yuss, I am evil. grins I'm leaving you with another cliffie to enjoy.

**happyloveygirl** – I just love your nick, it's really cute. And thanks very much. XD

**sapphireraccoongal** – Glad you're enjoying it but Kaoru isn't the damsel in distress. She knows how to get her own back.

**EmbersOfAmber** – Yeah. Kenshin and Shishio are actually friends in this fic, and Kaoru is not in a forgiving mood.

**serabi** – Thank you!!! XD

**skenshingumi** – Kenshin's torment hasn't even begun yet. There are going to be many things he still has to question, his own ideals will be put to test soon, as he struggles to understand what he wants to be.

**iluvchocs** – Yahiko…is probably not going to make it in this story. Sorry.

**natlane** – well I did!

**starstoryteller** – awww that's so kind of you. XD

**Keniichi** – I think you're going to stay mad at Kenshin for some time at least. But don't worry it won't last. XD

* * *

**The Battousai's Return**

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**Chapter Four**

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* * *

**Recap **

"I hate you."

Kenshin swallowed. He looked up at the sky. It seemed bleak. "That's alright." He turned. She looked away.

"Tonight. Tonight you will speak to Kogoro Katsura. Do you understand?"

She heard him. She did not speak.

**End of Recap**

"No."

The wind fell. Her words echoed in the silent room. Kenshin bent his head. He had hoped it would not come to this, but it was evident from her behavior that Kaoru Kamiya was going to be difficult to deal with. He turned around and faced her. She was looking at the tape that was tied around her hands.

"I see." He walked over and pulled up a chair next to the bed. He sat down and leaned forward. "You seem like a reasonable person Miss Kaoru. I can only assume that your refusal to comply with my wishes is a result of your willingness to find a reason to do what I ask you to. Am I correct?"

Kaoru glanced at him from the corner of her eye. _He wants to play mind games does he? Well fine. So be it._ "You can hardly expect me to blindly go along with whatever you say. You're a complete stranger. I don't even know you. I have no reason to trust you. Can you blame me for wanting answers?"

"Certainly not. I don't blame you at all. Your situation isn't exactly the most comfortable in the world. I know that. But meddling with my plans will get you nowhere. You are being unreasonable."

"I am merely being cautious." She was startled as he suddenly stood up from the chair and moved close, threateningly close to her. His face was merely inches away from her own and his eyes burned with anger, exasperation and annoyance.

"No! No Miss Kaoru! You are _not_ being cautious! If you were being cautious you would not be so reckless, so stubborn or so stupid as to deny me! Do you not realize? Can you not comprehend, that you and your little friends are at my mercy? Have I not made myself clear? Stray from the path I show you Miss Kaoru, and I will kill your friends! Is any of this getting registered in your head?"

Kaoru could only stare at him. He was truly terrifying. When he said he would kill her friends, his gaze did not waver, his hand did not shake, he hadn't seemed like it would bother him in the least to end the lives of people he knew nothing about, who had done him no harm, who bore him no ill-will. This man was completed unaffected. What in the world was he?

Kaoru turned her startled eyes away from him and looked down at her hands. Kenshin moved away from her, and settled back into his chair once again. He silently surveyed the nervous fidgeting of his captive. She was finally beginning to understand that this was not a college prank but the real thing.

Kaoru's eyes burned as she felt another cascade of tears welling up behind her lashes. She sniffed and bit back a cough. Her captor's outburst had swept away the indecision she had been feeling. Whatever his problem was, she was not going to help him out easily. He was dangerous, so she had to tread cautiously. She had no intention of being used as bait to help a criminal through with his objectives. Her friends' lives were being dangled over her head like a sword to make use of her. She couldn't allow it. It didn't matter how attractive or sexy she found him, she was not going to help him, and that was that.

The stakes had just gotten higher. She needed to act fast. There had to be some way to escape from here. As far as she could see, there were no guards except her date from hell. It was simply a matter of getting her hands free and finding an object heavy enough to knock him out. Normally, she hated violence in any form, but in this case, she could definitely make an exception and be as excessively violent as possible.

Right now, he probably thought that she was scared beyond measurement and completely helpless. It was nothing to be ashamed of. She would have to be superhuman not to be scared at this point and Kaoru held no such misconceptions about herself. She had been caught unawares with the knowledge that the man who had kidnapped her was indeed someone she should be afraid of. She wasn't ashamed of being scared, that was natural. But it wasn't important. What was important was how she planned on dealing with him. Regardless of how frightened she was, there was no reason she would sit here and let this vicious man dictate his terms to her. She had to get away from him.

And if he thought her friends were sitting ducks, he had another thing coming. Sanosuke could take on any number of lowlife thugs and beat them to a pulp. He'd been doing that for years now. Sanosuke had the guts to beat up a mobster on his own turf. There was nothing he couldn't handle. He could take care of himself. She didn't need to worry about Megumi. Sano would watch over her; it was a given. The only one she was concerned about was Misao. Misao was so careless, bold to the point of being stupid sometimes.

"Head in the clouds, Miss Kaoru?" His voice ripped her out of her thoughts. She glared at him. He simply smiled at her.

Kaoru felt the air slam out of her lungs. It was as if the smile had disarmed the ferocious aura he had been shrouded in a second ago. She could hardly believe it was the same man standing before her who had threatened to kill her friends just minutes ago. Her confusion was apparent on her face. He sat down beside her and gently drew a knife from his sleeve. He calmly cut her bonds. As he peeled the tape off her skin, she had the mad idea of shoving him aside and running for the door. The heavy feeling in her legs put a stop to the idea. As she was now, she wouldn't get far from him. She could perhaps take two steps, maybe four before collapsing in a heap.

She felt a moist cloth move across her wrist. She looked down to find that her captor was rubbing a wet towel over her wrists. They had been tied so long; the skin was red, raw and slightly swollen. The cloth felt cool and refreshing on her skin. Inspite of herself, Kaoru exhaled in relief. Kenshin looked up and continued with his ministrations.

She frowned, and pulled her hands from him. "Stop it. I don't need your help." He didn't protest. Without a word, he picked up the cloth and bowl of water and went to put them back. Kaoru stood up shakily. She stepped forward and gasped as a sharp pain shot up her leg. She sank back onto the bed, and rubbed her calves, trying to help circulate blood faster so she could stand again.

"You shouldn't be so careless." Kenshin said as he watched her try to stand again.

"Please spare me the concerned small talk. We both know I'm just a tool for you, a bargaining chip with which you're going to try and rustle up some money from my uncle, so don't pretend that you're concerned. Oh and don't worry! I know. You can kill my friends when you feel like it so I should probably shut up, isn't that right?" She replied bitterly.

Kenshin laughed. "Well I wouldn't quite put it like that, sweetheart. The rules of kidnapping dictate that the kidnapper, that would be me, treats the kidnappee, in this case you, with a minimum of concern so as to not damage the goods. It's as simple as that."

Kaoru stopped midway and almost screamed in anger. "I am not an inanimate object you fucking bastard!"

Kenshin raised his eyebrow. "Oh my, what foul language. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to swear? It isn't polite."

"What the devil are you talking about? You freaking kidnapped me! In what part of your sick, deranged mind are you expecting politeness out of me?"

"Well, life has its own share of inconveniences Miss Kaoru, but that's not an excuse to forget your manners, is it? In fact, manners are needed the most in an emergency….and that's exactly when you're losing them." He leaned back in the chair once again. His eyes were twinkling with amusement. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to bait her and provoke her so that she would concentrate on whatever he was saying instead of thinking about other things. Like hitting him on the head and getting the hell out of here. She knew that and yet she was finding it hard to ignore him. Damn.

She took a deep breath. This was not the time to get angry over something so trivial. He was doing this on purpose, throwing her off-balance. She had to calm down and think. She looked at his face. He was wearing a confident smile, mocking her and her futile attempt to try and gain control of the situation.

She smiled back. He straightened up. She moved towards him slowly. Kenshin stopped smiling. He looked at her warily.

"So what exactly is it that you need from my uncle, huh?" Kaoru asked him, the smile plastered securely across her features. Her closeness unnerved him, though she had no way of knowing that.

He smirked. "Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Kaoru."

She shrugged. "I ought to know what I'm being bartered for. It's not an unreasonable thing to ask."

They held each other's eyes.

And hidden from them both, a keen pair of marine eyes blinked as they tried to comprehend exactly what was going on. Kaoru refused to do as he said, yet Battousai didn't do anything. He had yelled at her, somewhat, but even that rebuke didn't hold a shred of the ruthlessness he was capable of. He was toying with her, engaging in banter as she responded in kind. They were dancing around each other like two creatures lost in a game for mastery. Fangs were bared, sometimes drawing blood, sometimes grazing skin just enough to let each other know it was a tease, no more, no less.

Kaoru broke the silence first. "What now?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do now, with me?" She blinked and winced inwardly all the while cursing her choice of sentence construction as she spied a twinkle of amusement creep into his eyes.

"Good question. What _am_ I going to do, with you?" He said with a straight face even as his eyes mocked her. "You're certainly dressed to fit the part." His eyes traced a line down her neck, resting briefly on her breasts, and returned to her eyes. He smiled unrepentantly as Kaoru quickly pulled the zipper of her dress back in place and straightened herself, even as she directed every curse she'd ever learnt from Sano at him.

"Great. Not only do I get kidnapped, I also get stuck here with a pervert." She muttered. Kenshin burst out laughing. He looked her over and sighed.

She glared at him. "Stop staring at me like I'm a piece of meat, jerk!"

Kenshin mockingly placed a hand on his heart. "My apologies."

Kaoru pursed her lips. "Whatever. Can you…do you have a change of clothes? I've been wearing these all night, it's slightly disgusting."

He nodded. He returned a few minutes later, dropping a small pile of clothes on the bed. "Take your pick. They should fit."

Kaoru gathered them in her arms. She noticed him watching her silently. She looked up to meet his eyes. The amethyst gaze that looked back at her seemed gentle, and full of questions. Kaoru straightened and faced him.

"Whatever it is that you want to accomplish…is there no other way you could do it?"

"…."

"Are you…in some kind of trouble? Do you need the money that badly?"

"It's not about money!" He blurted out.

She didn't know what surprised her more. That he had answered her, that the color of his eyes deepened to indigo, or that his voice had been so bitter. He looked away. "Then what is it about? What concerns you so deeply that you would hurt innocent people to gain your ends?"

He answered woodenly. "You don't need to know."

She felt as though a cold knife curved through her heart. "No. I just need to know what you would do to me if I don't cooperate. I just need to know my friends will be hurt, but I don't need to know why all of this is happening. Isn't that right?" She shot back at him.

"It won't last long. You'll be free of all this, and of me."

"I can't wait for that day."

The silence that followed screamed louder than any words could. Her anger swarmed around and coiled itself around her frame, blocking any urge to look at him and seek answers once again.

"Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favorite person." He turned away. "Feel free to have a shower. And don't worry, we're on the 25th floor, this apartment has no balconies and only one entrance, so unless you want to end up as fudge on the pavement, there's no way for you to run."

Kaoru bristled. Slowly, without making a sound, she picked up the chair he had been sitting on, gripping it tightly with her hands she advanced slowly before lunging and bringing the chair down on him.

* * *

Sano glared at the plaque on the door, silently willing the man sitting inside to crumple up in his chair and die. He ran his hands through his hair. Biting his lips, he leaned forward in his seat and glanced down the hallway again. He rubbed his neck. The chill from the wall was seeping into his shoulder, but he could care less. Finally he heard the sound of boots clicking on the tiled floor. He looked up. It was him. The man he had come to see. The man who would get him past the door and inside the office of that damned Fujita Goro, Senior Detective at Tokyo Police Department. Sano jumped up, and rushed to the man, blocking his path.

The man tilted his head to the side and looked at him. His blonde hair defied gravity as it shot towards the heavens, contained by a bandana. The two bandana-wearers stared at each other in indignation, as though insulted that someone apart from them had dared to fashion their hair in this way.

The man raised one eyebrow. "The hell is your problem?"

"I've been sitting here, waiting for answers for a fucking day! But there is nobody in this entire godforsaken dump who can tell me what the hell happened to my friend! And you're asking me what my problem is?" Sano burst out. He was sick with worry and angry at himself for having no answers. He had gone out of his mind, trying to find Kaoru but she was nowhere. None of their friends knew what happened to her. She had just disappeared. One minute she had been there, sitting and laughing with Misao, the next, she was gone. They had asked Misao but even she had no idea where Kaoru had gone. He didn't know what to do, where to go, whom to turn to for help. Kaoru was nowhere to be found. And he was doing nothing right.

The man dropped the smirk that had formed on his face. "I see. Have you lodged a complaint? "

Sano's fingers curled into a fist. "Yes. I have. I need to talk to Fujita Goro. Now."

The man thought for a while. Glancing at Sano once more, he nodded. "Come with me." He opened the door. Sano followed him inside. The room was dark, all the windows were shut, save for the last one adjacent to the desk of the man to whom the room belonged. A solitary sunbeam landed on the table, it lit up the steady plume of smoke rising from the cigarette he held in his hand. He looked up as his subordinate walked in. The angular planes of his face complementing the hard, piercing stare of his eyes. It was not hard to believe that this man was a relic from the days of the revolution. The memories of men killed and comrades buried beneath hastily dug graves burned in his eyes. Fujito Goro, formerly known as Hajime Saitou, captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I updated! I'm so proud of myself. I really think I deserve something nice. sneaks some cookies off from the reviewers plate

Read and review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes all is not as it seems. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The situations in this story however, do belong to me.

**Rating**: T

**Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I love you guys. I really hope you like this chapter. krystalMage crosses her fingers 

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**

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**Chapter Five**

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* * *

**Recap **

"It won't last long. You'll be free of all this, and of me."

"I can't wait for that day."

The silence that followed screamed louder than any words could. Her anger swarmed around and coiled itself around her frame, blocking any urge to look at him and seek answers once again.

"Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favorite person." He turned away. "Feel free to have a shower. And don't worry, we're on the 25th floor, this apartment has no balconies and only one entrance, so unless you want to end up as fudge on the pavement, there's no way for you to run."

Kaoru bristled. Slowly, without making a sound, she picked up the chair he had been sitting on, gripping it tightly with her hands she advanced slowly before lunging and bringing the chair down on him.

**End of Recap**

* * *

The thwacking sound of wood connecting with her kidnapper's head rang in Kaoru's ears. Her captor raised his hands and clutched his head briefly before collapsing on the floor in a heap. He writhed as his head exploded in pain. Kaoru stepped back. The chair clattered to the floor as it slipped from her hands. Her hands were shaking. She clamped them over her mouth, shocked at her daring and the success of the attack. She frantically looked around the apartment and spotted the door. She raced to the door as fast as her legs would allow. Pulling desperately at the doorknob, she turned to take one last look at the man who had shown her pure horror and fear for the first time ever in her life. She fumbled with the chain latching the door shut. Even as her fingers shook and her heart beat madly in fear, she finally pulled the door free and ran out into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her. 

Her breath came in short bursts. Half hopping, half running, she raced down the hallway.

She was free.

-

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The pain seemed to float around his head in circles, floating out from the base of his skull to the top of his head. He winced and gingerly touched the back of his head, softly groping and sliding his fingers through his hair to locate the exact location of the wound left by Kaoru's blow. He froze momentarily when he felt his viscous blood oozing out of his scalp. He pulled his fingers out and studied them briefly. He couldn't help flinching at the sight of blood tainting his hands once again. The fact that it was his blood made no difference to him. The only thing that mattered was that he had blood on his hands.

_Dirty…..dirty….stained hands….tainted hands….will I never be free?_

His hand began to shake. Kenshin clutched it tightly with the other hand but the shaking would not stop. He stared unblinkingly at the red tint seeping through his fingers down onto his palm. His breath quivered in his throat and he began to tremble spasmodically.

Misao rushed out from her hiding place and knelt down beside him. She tried to soothe him but he slapped her hands away and retreated to the wall. His hair came undone and hung in clumps around his face and his trembling was getting worse, as he began to convulse erratically. His eyes were wild, but whether it was fear or anger that plagued him could not be said for certain. Misao was flabbergasted. She had never imagined seeing the all- powerful Battousai of the anarchy so helpless and disturbed. He was acting more than slightly deranged and it scared her. She strode away from him and flipped open her phone. Hurriedly punching in a number, she held the phone to her ear and prayed it would be answered quickly.

The line came alive on the third ring. A brusque voice answered.

"Tell me."

Misao clutched the phone tighter, pushed it further against her ear and began to talk faster than she could blink her eyes.

"Aoshi-sama!! It'smeMisaoandthankgodyourestillhereIhadthoughtyoumigthavegonebacktoKyotothen wewouldhavebeendead!."

"Misao…" Aoshi tried to interject but Misao too busy pouring her heart out to bother to listen.

"I'msohappyIgotthrough.YouarenotgoingtobelievethistheplanistotallyruinedandHimuraisactinglikeaschizophrenic……."

"Misao……." Aoshi tried once more, but Misao was having none of it.

"Himura'sactingreallyweirdandhe'sscaringmeandIdon'tknowwhattodoandIwishyouwerehereI'mfeelingsoconfusedrightnow.

"MISAO!" Aoshi snapped as his patience ran out.

She stopped short. "Yes Aoshi-sama?"

Aoshi sighed. "Slow down. Take a deep breath."

Misao blinked and then breathed deeply. Aoshi smiled.

"Now talk."

Misao swallowed. "Everything's gotten messed up Aoshi-sama. Kaoru's escaped and Himura is acting really strange. He keeps staring at his hands and shaking. Kaoru's been gone for at least five minutes but he hasn't even made a move for the door yet, so I'm confused…what exactly am I supposed to do now? Should I return? Do we consider the mission over, since the target has escaped? And what should I do with Himura, he's acting totally loony. He's beginning to freak me out."

There was a slight pause at the other end of the line. Misao waited. A slow crackle across the line interrupted whatever it was that her leader had just told her. Misao strained her ears and asked him to repeat what he just said.

"Follow her and bring her back."

Misao hesitated. She didn't want to put Kaoru through anymore misery. The girl really didn't deserve to be dragged into all of this. She bit her lip and turned back towards Kenshin, who had begun to stand up jerkily. He was regaining his composure. His hands weren't shaking anymore as he steadied himself by leaning against the wall.

"Aoshi-sama, that's all very well but…..shouldn't we think of doing something for Himura first? I mean he seems pretty disturbed."

A soft chuckle at the other line caught her attention and she looked away from the upset hitokiri to concentrate on what her leader was saying.

"He's a hitokiri from the revolution. Being disturbed is nothing new to him. But it may make things very unpleasant if that girl is not brought back."

"But Aoshi-sama!"

"Find her and bring her back. I'll handle Himura."

Misao opened her mouth to speak again but the line was cut. She stared forlornly at the phone before shoving it into her back pocket and heading out the door. She ran down the hallway to the stairs and swiftly descended, taking the stairs two and three at times. Finding Kaoru and bringing her back to their safe house was her responsibility now. She could only hope that Kaoru hadn't gotten very far. Although, even if she did manage that, it would not be a difficult matter to track her down even if she had gotten away in a taxi or bus. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the place where Kaoru chose to hide while things blew over.

Misao knew her inside out. She knew that the first place where Kaoru would take refuge would be with Sanosuke. She had to find her before Kaoru contacted him. Trying to sneak her out from under Sanosuke's (very) watchful eye would be next to impossible.

Sanosuke pretended to be a reckless, carefree guy who moved at his own pace and didn't give a damn about what happened around him but the truth was that if he kept one eye closed, he had two eyes open at the back of his head. Sanosuke never missed a beat about anything. She did not want to cross Sano's path especially when it came to Kaoru. He was insanely protective of her. The hospitalised frames of Kaoru's former boyfriends who had (very foolishly) cheated on her were testimony to the fact that nobody messed around with Kaoru and got away with it. Nobody.

She rammed her foot down hard on the accelerator and swerved her car out of the parking space. The screech of the tyres on the asphalt made her cringe as she snapped her head around, checking if any of the guards had been bothered to make an appearance to castigate her rough driving. Apparently, none of the guards could be bothered. She drove out of the parking lot.

Once out on the street, Misao began to search for her wayward captive. Discreetly scanning the street for a girl in rumpled evening clothes shouldn't prove to be too difficult. Kaoru hadn't rested properly for close to two days. They had graduated the day before she had been whisked away from the club and the late night partying after that had exhausted her already, added to that the sock of being kidnapped and bound for close to twenty four hours couldn't have helped her mental state at all. She had been through hell in those twenty four hours. Her mind and body were both tired and she was a nervous wreck. There was no way that she could escape in such a state.

Misao chewed on a piece of caramel gum as she watched people rushing to work. Men in dark suits with briefcases, worrying about deadlines, promotions, receding hairlines, reduced libido and how to snare the boss's good favour and sleekly-dressed women running their lives over and over in their heads, work, glass ceiling, home, chores, errands, faking orgasms, whether or not to accept that indecent proposal which may lead to something better or may not, the younger man or the sugar daddy. Each seemed trapped inside the web of their thoughts. As she watched Misao wondered what the imperialists used to think when they saw what the world had become since the revolution. Was it enough? Was it justified?

A streak of bright light flashed across the street as the sun flashed briefly against a large glass set against the wall of a shop. Misao glanced towards it. The glass was probably meant to be fit inside one of the many upscale boutiques on the street. Staring at it idly, she was about to turn away when she spotted Kaoru. She was crouching behind a service truck that was unloading boxes of merchandise for one of the shops. She knelt next to the giant wheel of the truck, darting glances everywhere around her, looking as tense as a coiled rope of steel.

Misao clamped her teeth down down hard, dividing the sticky candy in her mouth. She pulled up the handbrake and released the keys from ignition. She turned her eyes back and forth along the street, checking for any patrol cars or close-circuit cameras. The last thing she needed was to have her face plastered on a surveillance video. She'd been instructed to disappear from the lives of the clueless bunch of people she had befriended four months ago. She could no longer risk being seen in Tokyo.

Convinced that the coast was clear, Misao swung her legs out of the car and rose to her feet in one fluid movement. Nonchalantly she retrieved her bag and an electric buzzer from the backseat. It wasn't as though she were expecting Kaoru to resist, but just in case she did so, albeit in nervousness, she needed something to persuade her to be silent and not make a scene. She took measured steps towards her former friend, taking care not to walk too fast or too slow. The pace had to be just right, fast enough to match the rushing bodies around her and slow enough as to avoid startling Kaoru.

-

-

Kaoru watched the busy street warily. She was tired of running and needed to find a safe place to stay. She had no doubt that the man who had kidnapped her probably knew where she lived, in fact she wouldn't be too surprised if she ran home right now and found him sitting comfortably on her living room couch. The man had that kind of air around him. Getting in and out of any place wasn't going to give him much of a challenge. She couldn't go home or back to her college dormitory. Even if she could, she wouldn't feel safe at all. She needed to be somewhere where she knew nothing could harm her, someplace where security was certain. And there was just one person right now who could make her feel like that - Sanosuke Sagara.

A taxi rounded the corner. Kaoru slowly rose to her feet. She stepped forward and was about to walk to the curb to wave at it when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She whipped around in shock. It was Misao.

Kaoru stared at her. Her eyes were wide open in surprise and disbelief. Misao appeared to be a little startled herself.

"Kaoru….where have you been? I've been looking for you for so long." Misao spoke with concern. She wasn't lying. She really wasn't deceiving anyone when she said that. She really had been looking for her for the past one hour. One hour was a long time for Misao and she couldn't help but feel a hearty respect for this girl who had been nothing more than a target, a number on a file for her. Even she, a stellar Oniwabanshu operative hadn't had an easy time trying to locate Kaoru once she had left the apartment. She'd covered her tracks very well. In fact, had she not been who she was, Misao would have gladly nominated her name for recruitment to the stellar secret society.

Tears welled up in Kaoru's eyes as she looked at the figure of her friend. She held her arms out and enveloped Misao in a tight hug.

"Misao….I've been so scared. I'm so glad you found me. It was terrible and I wanted you all so bad, you and Sano and Megumi and I couldn't believe it was happening to me, and I just didn't know what happened, and why, and I don't know. I'm just so glad you found me."

Misao patted her back reassuringly. "There, don't worry. I've got you now. I was really worried when I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought that maybe I'd lost you. That was really scary."

"Yeah, really scary." Kaoru managed to mumble something through her sniffles.

Misao smiled. Kaoru felt as though she could finally put the nasty experience of the night behind her.

"Come on, let's get you home."

"No! Not home, Misao, not yet. He might know. He might find me."

"Not your house silly, we're going to my house. Come along now, this way. Careful, do you need help to walk?" Misao gently held her elbow and began to lead the way to the car park."

"No I can walk." Kaoru held on tightly to Misao's hand, not willing to let go even for a second. Misao smiles at her once more, and pulled her along. She held the door open for Kaoru, and tucked a thick blanket around her. Carefully, she fastened the seatbelt over the blanket, effectively binding Kaoru with it. Kaoru didn't seem to notice though, she was just thankful that her friend had found her. And the warmth of the blanket was welcome to her, very welcome.

As the car started forward, the lulling motion calmed her. Kaoru turned towards Misao.

"I'm sorry I worried you guys so much."

Misao laughed. "Don't be silly idiot. We were just worried because we didn't know where you'd gone off. Don't do that again. Who was that guy anyway?"

"I don't know. I…don't even know his name. I have no idea who he is, and why he did all this…I'm sorry. I was really stupid."

"Hey don't worry about it. Now that you're back, everything will be fine."

"Yeah….hey, where's Sano?"

"You haven't talked to him yet?" Misao asked cautiously, watching Kaoru's face.

"No. I was planning to take a taxi to his place when you found me. I wanted to call him, but I had no money and my phone….I don't remember where it is. I didn't get a chance to contact him."

"Well, he'll know soon enough, no need to worry."

"Yeah I guess. Misao? Is something wrong?"

"What? No! Of course not, why would anything be wrong?"

"You seem really tense."

"Well…. Duh! I was worried. Of course I'll seem a bit tensed. "

"I'm so sorry Misao." Kaoru reached forward and tried to hold her hand out to her friend but the blanket was tucked so tightly around her that she couldn't move. She fidgeted a little, trying to get a little space to move around.

Misao looked at her. "Don't do that. I tucked you in like that for a reason. I want you to relax. Okay? Just get some rest. We'll be there soon."

Kaoru nodded slowly. She was feeling exhausted. Besides, now there was nothing to be scared about. Misao was here, with her. Her friends would soon surround her and everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours would just be a bad dream and she could forget about. She frowned. _"Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favourite person." _He had lied to her. Everything he had said that night on the dance floor was a lie. He just wanted to use her to get to her uncle.

Kaoru shut her eyes. His face swam in front of her eyes. She opened them with a start. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about him. He was such a strange man. Kidnapping her, and for what? She frowned once more. Now that she thought about it, why _had_ he kidnapped her? Why would a man risk persecution by the stringent laws of the country by doing something so reckless. She was not close to her uncle but if he had known about her Kogoro Katsura connection then he should also have known that anyone who attempted any harm to her would be severely punished, regardless of whether or not she wanted it.

What did he want from her uncle? He said it wasn't about money, but then what could it be about? It's always about money, isn't it? All the crimes in the world can be traced to greed. Greed, and thirst for money or power. What was this man greedy about? What did he want?

She felt her eyelids slide shut and the faint sound of the engine as it hummed to a stop. She forced herself to open her eyes even though she didn't want to. She turned to Misao, but Misao wasn't in her seat. Kaoru sat up. The door opened. She looked up at the person standing outside.

It was Misao. She had a sombre expression on her face. She quietly unbuckled the seatbelt and took away the blanket, folding it carefully before tossing it in the backseat again. She stepped back and held her hand out to Kaoru. Kaoru stared at the outstretched hand in confusion before taking it and stepping out of the car. She looked around and then back at Misao in confusion. They were standing in the foyer of a very large and very old house. She couldn't recognise it at all. The place seemed to be a throwback to the past. It was built in the fashion of houses before the revolution, when the country was still slumbering in its age-old custom of life. It seemed as she were standing in a small pocket where time had stood still for years, where the fiery sparks of the revolution had never reached.

"Misao, where are we? I've never seen anything like it before."

"And you won't see anything like it anywhere else either." A voice that was painfully familiar to her floated out from within. She froze and turned slowly to face her captor.

-

-

He was leaning against the doorway, dressed in a plain black shirt and blue jeans. He was holding an icepack to his head. He stepped forward and dumped the icepack in an earthenware basin sitting next to the stairs.

"You've been a very naughty girl Miss Kaoru. I hope you will behave this time round or….I might have to become quite unpleasant. And I really don't want that. We hit it off so well yesterday, do you really want to spoil all that? Don't make me do anything that I may regret later on. It's like I said before, you could possibly be my most favourite person, let me keep on believing that."

He turned and walked back inside. Kaoru snatched her hand away from Misao. She turned to face her, her eyes flashing wildly in anger.

"Misao, what the hell is this place! And what is he doing here?"

Misao took a deep breath. "This house is the headquarters of our organisation Kaoru."

"Organisation…what organisation? What the fuck are you talking about? Why did you bring me here? This man kidnapped me! He drugged me, lied to me and locked me up! How could you bring me back here?" Kaoru screamed back at her.

"Kaoru, it was something I had to do."

"You did this on purpose?" Kaoru's voice trembled. She felt the world spin and turn in front of her eyes. She stumbled back, away from Misao. She slowly shook her head, willing that everything she was hearing was a lie, and that it was all a nightmare she would soon wake from.

Misao sat down on the wooden parapet that circled the house. "I was assigned to follow you and gain information about you. Everywhere you went, everyone you knew, the people you met, everything." She looked up as Kaoru also sat down.

"Every week I made a report about my progress. How far I had gotten in getting close to you, things like that. When we had enough information, we decided to make our move."

"You're joking aren't you? This is all some sort of weird prank you guys are playing on me right?" She looked around. "Okay so where is everyone? Alright guys, you got me! I'm terrified!" She turned towards Misao once again. Her vulnerability was obvious from the look on her face. "Misao…you got me. Just end this now please."

"I'm sorry Kaoru. This is not a prank. You were brought here for a purpose. This is no lie. It's real. And it's best if you start accepting it."

"I can't accept it! I won't! Why have you brought me here? And who are you people! I want answers Misao!"

"I can't give you those answers. Only he can." Misao jerked her head towards the house.

"Who is this guy, and what did I ever do to him? Why can't he just leave me alone?"

Misao stood. She dusted some imaginary lint off her clothes. Tossing her braid behind her shoulder, she spoke once more.

"There really isn't any point in talking about any of this now. We need to go in. You have a job to do."

"Yeah. Now that your job is over, you're through with me aren't you? I hope they paid you well for your trouble." She replied bitterly.

A nerve twitched near Misao's mouth. She looked away and shrugged. "Perhaps. Don't expect me to get emotional about this. You were a job, an assignment I had to complete for my organization. I had people counting on me to do this."

Hot tears of anger threatened to seep out of her eyes. Kaoru blinked them away and set her jaw decisively. She stood up.

"I counted on you too. But you betrayed me. You're a deceiver Misao, and a liar. Just know that a traitor has no friends. You will be betrayed as easily as me one day."

"We all must do what we have to Kaoru. That's how the world goes round. "

"Oh shut up Misao! Spare me the fatalistic I-did-what-I-did-because-I-had-to bullshit! You were paid! You were paid to trick me! You were responsible for spying on me and to deliver me into the hands of an enemy. And you did it!" She stood abruptly. Fury flashed in her eyes.

Misao laughed nervously. "You know, you almost sound scary when you say that."

The resounding sound of a slap echoed in the empty courtyard. Misao flinched. Her cheek burned with stinging pain. Gingerly, she rubbed her cheek with the palm of her hand and raised her eyes to face Kaoru, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Don't you dare mock me you little bitch," she snarled. "I'm in this situation because I trusted you to watch my back, but this isn't over yet. So help me god I will get back at you for putting me through this shit. No matter what."

Kenshin reappeared at the door. Sensing the tension in the air, he coughed slightly. Both the girls looked away. Kaoru hugged herself protectively. Misao stared up at the rafters on the roof before stalking off in search of something to vent her frustration out upon. Kenshin ruffled her hair as she walked past him, earning a punch in the arm. He chuckled and leaned against the door once more, silently observing his captive once more. Kaoru bristled and looked back at him challengingly.

"What?" She spat out in a voice that was more than slightly vicious.

He smiled at her. "You look cute. Few women could manage that in a ruined dress and mangled hair but you still do it Miss Kaoru."

"Whatever. Aren't you going to go after your girlfriend or something?" She asked cattily.

He laughed. "Misao isn't exactly my type." He raked his eyes over her frame hungrily. "I like my women curvaceous."

"Shut up! Stop trying to act like you know me or something."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Hmm, now that you mention it, it's ironic. I should be the one getting angry Miss Kaoru, but you don't see me throwing a fit, do you?"

"Angry? What the hell! What should you be angry about? I escaped, and your little lackey brought me back!"

"Ah yes, Misao is terribly effective isn't she? Even though she doesn't look like it. Coming back to your question, you're forgetting your manners again Miss Kaoru."

"What….are you talking about?" Kaoru rolled her eyes.

Kenshin sighed. "It's inconceivable. How can a girl who is so beautiful lack such basic common sense? You _hit_ me, Miss Kaoru, with a chair no less. And I was seriously hurt, but you haven't once asked me how I'm feeling. I'm hurt."

"Are you insane? You actually expect me to ask you how you're doing. You're crazy."

"That's my problem. I begin to expect too much of people."

"If you're quite done babbling to yourself, can I leave?"

"Of course, just as soon as you talk to your beloved uncle. He'll send some nice people here to take you back to your cosy little home and then you can forget all about this."

"Why can't I just leave right now, and get back to my cosy little house even earlier? How's that sound to you?" She replied in a saccharine sweet voice.

"Oh come on, Miss Kaoru. Surely you can spare me a few moments to cherish once you're long gone."

"Let me leave!"

"I will. When it is time to leave. There's a time for everything. A time to live, a time to die, a time to run, and a time to kill…." He trailed off in the midst of saying something. A man appeared in the door and gestured towards him. Kenshin nodded at him.

He stepped forward and grasped Kaoru's elbow. She struggled against him but he refused to let go. Turning around, he guided her inside the house. In spite of herself, she began to look around curiously. The house was lavishly decorated. Soft, worn wooden floors, rich rugs and carpets thrown randomly on the floor and countless antiques were placed in every room they passed. Finally they came to a sparsely decorated room with a low table and two chairs. There was a phone on the table. The receiver was off the hook.

Kenshin picked the receiver up. "Ready, Katsura?"

Kaoru stared at him. His voice had changed. When he had been talking to her, it had still been the soft, velvety voice of the man she had danced with in the club, now it was the voice of some stranger – icy, cold, and unrepentantly deadly. He held the receiver out to her. She looked at it uncertainly. He raised an eyebrow.

She took the receiver and slowly held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Kaoru! Thank god you're alright! Don't worry child, I will get you out of there before you know it. I will"

Kenshin snatched the receiver from her hands. "How many times must I tell you Katsura? Don't jump the gun. It annoys me."

"I'm sorry Battousai. I was just happy at hearing her voice."

"And such a pretty voice it is isn't it?" His lips twisted into a smirk.

Katsura patted his forehead with a handkerchief. "Ye-es, it is."

"We wouldn't want anything to happen to it, would we?"

"No. No of course not."

"Good, and to ensure that nothing happens to it, what are you going to do?"

Katsura swallowed. He raised his hand to loosen his tie further, only to remember that he had removed it from making this phone call. But the mere sound of Battousai's voice made him feel like the noose was getting tighter around his neck.

Kenshin waited. "Katsura….you're doing it again….wasting my time."

"No! I remember, I'll do whatever you want. Tell you anything you want to know. Anything."

"This is why I'm so fond of you Katsura, it takes a long time to make you understand anything, but once you're there you don't forget the lesson." Kenshin smiled widely. "I'll call you tomorrow to tell you her location. You will send one of your people to collect your precious niece, and in the interim, you will tell me what I want to know. Are we understood?"

"Yes. Understood."

Kenshin gently put the receiver back in its cradle. He rested his hand on it and looked down at the table.

"Who are you?" Kaoru asked softly.

He turned and looked at her questioningly. She no longer seemed angry, but curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Who are you, that my uncle would be afraid of you?"

He smirked. "Miss Kaoru, no offense to your family, but it doesn't take a lot to scare your uncle."

"He wasn't just scared. He was petrified. Who are you?"

Kenshin bent his head. "I'm nothing special. Just someone who knew your uncle in the past."

"An old friend?"

"Something like that."

"Why would an old friend become an enemy and try to cause hurt to someone?"

"That's exactly what I want to ask him, Miss Kaoru."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yeah baby! I'm finally, oh my god, finally out with this chapter!

**Author Feelings Bar chart**

Sense of accomplishment – 67

Relief – 14

Nervousness- 9

Happiness-10

I hope that adds up, if it doesn't…..well then we all know why I didn't take Math as my major. Buwahahahahhaha!

Hope you all like this chapter, we're getting warmer now. My personal favourite part of the story will soon be coming and the mystery will thicken. Yay!!!


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes that there is more to the story than what meets the eye. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The situations in this story however, do belong to me.

**Rating**: T. This chapter has very slight references to torture.

Please not that the section in italics refers to the past. It is a flashback.

* * *

**The Battousai's Return**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

**Recap **

"Who are you?" Kaoru asked softly.

He turned and looked at her questioningly. She no longer seemed angry, but curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Who are you, that my uncle would be afraid of you?"

He smirked. "Miss Kaoru, no offense to your family, but it doesn't take a lot to scare your uncle."

"He wasn't just scared. He was petrified. Who are you?"

Kenshin bent his head. "I'm not anyone special. Just somebody who knew your uncle in the past."

"An old friend?"

"Something like that."

"Why would an old friend become an enemy and try to cause hurt to someone?"

"That's exactly what I want to ask him, Miss Kaoru."

**End of Recap**

* * *

Kaoru was perplexed. There was so much she wanted to ask, so much she wanted to know, so much that confused her about him. She watched him carefully, like a guard watches a prisoner, eager to detect any gesture or word that would tell her what he was thinking. But even as she followed his every move with her eyes, the irony of their situation didn't fail to amuse her. She was the prisoner. She was the one who was being guarded and watched, and not the other way around.

He spoke to her uncle as though he had no fear of him. As though speaking to one of the country's founders did not make him nervous in the least. Katsura was part of the Council of Patriots who had liberated their country from the oppressive rule of the Shogunate. They had given everything to create a new society and they ruled with an iron fist. The transition from the old, feudal order to the modern age had not been easy. Kaoru knew that lots of people had been left behind; promises to certain sections of the populace had been broken. She knew that the new government had many secrets, secrets that they would not want made public but despite all of this, they had turned their country into the powerful entity it was today.

The freedom they enjoyed was all due to the Patriots. But this man seemed to have no trace of reverence or respect for them. He spoke to Katsura with scorn and contempt. Kaoru had never heard that tone of voice from anyone who spoke to her uncle. People who approached Katsura did so with caution because they knew that the slightest faux pas or slip of tongue could land them in jail under charges of contempt of the country's supreme leaders.

How did this man manage to convey such blatant disgust and revulsion and not be even a little bit scared?

Kaoru stepped up in front of him. "How do you know my uncle?"

Kenshin was silent. He coiled the wire of the telephone tightly around his fingers and jerked it out of the socket. Shaking his fingers, he rid himself of the wire and stepped out from behind the table.

Kaoru leaned forward and grabbed his arm. "I'm asking you a question!"

"And I choose not to answer." Kenshin quietly plucked her fingers off his arm.

Kaoru glared at him. "I'll find out anyway. Wouldn't it be better if you just told me yourself?"

He stopped in his tracks. "You'll find out? And how do you suppose you'll do that?"

Kaoru shrugged. "It's obvious isn't it? Once I'm free, and you're caught by the police, I'll just ask my uncle."

Kenshin stared at her for awhile then suddenly his face crumbled as he burst out laughing. Kaoru stared at him. He kept laughing uproariously. He bent over, holding his sides as he laughed.

The sound of his laughter attracted the attention of the other inmates of the house and they began to filter into the room, wondering what had him in splits. Misao walked in, her sullen mood forgotten. She gave her head a little shake and stared with her mouth open. _The Hitokiri Battousai was laughing? _Kenshin covered his mouth with his fingers as he slowly regained his composure. He breathed slowly.

Misao couldn't help retort. "I'm calling Aoshi-sama, Himura. _You_ have gone insane."

"Shut up Misao. I just haven't had such a great laugh in a long time."

Kaoru pursed her lips together and stuck her shin out defiantly. "What did I say that was so funny?"

Kenshin held her eyes steadily. Turning towards Misao and the other Oniwabanshu agents in the room, he said, "I don't remember calling any of you here. Back to positions."

They bolted from the room, not needing any encouragement from him.

Kenshin waited till the corridor connecting the room to the outer chambers of the house was empty. He turned to Kaoru.

"What do you know about your uncle, Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru replied. "What everybody knows. He is one of the three great Patriots of the revolution. He, along with his comrades overthrew the Shogunate and set up a new, modern and liberal system of governance for us."

Kenshin smirked. "Right out of the history textbook, as I expected. But nonetheless, your statement is impressive. Can you judge why? This statement of yours Miss Kaoru, accepts that the knowledge you have about your uncle is what has been told to you and millions of others."

"I…..don't understand. What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, that you know only what any person on the street would know about your uncle despite the fact that you are Kogoro Katsura's niece. Facts and statements made by this government, things _meant_ to be told to you."

Kaoru felt a chill run down her spine. She trembled. "What are you trying to say?"

Kenshin opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but stopped. His eyes shone with a strange light, and he seemed slightly mad. He held his hand out to her, fingers outstretched. She stared at it and stepped back. He backed away, curling his fingers into a fist. Pushing the chair to the right, he left the room. Kaoru sank into the chair. Her heart had started to beat faster. She had the unmistakable feeling that she was going find out something terrible. For the first time since this nightmare had begun, she was not sure if she wanted to know the reason why she had been dragged into this affair. Her captor seemed willing to share his reasons with her but she was no longer certain that she wanted to know them.

His eyes had blazed with anger, disgust and hatred when he spoke to Katsura. But, why? Had he been wronged by her uncle? Was there something about her uncle's past, she did not know about? Kaoru thought hard but she couldn't recall much.

Her childhood had been idyllic, basking in the love and care of her father. Her father, a gentle and compassionate man was a kendo teacher. He had turned his dojo into a small orphanage where he would take care of children whose lives had been uprooted by the revolution.

Katsura was a shadowy figure, about as real to her as the characters in her father's stories. When her father died, Katsura had offered his condolences and asked her to stay with him but she had refused. He had extended this offer a number of times but she had never responded affirmatively. He had no children of his own and was very fond of her, yet did that amount to knowing him? She couldn't tell. These thoughts troubled her.

She believed that Katsura was a noble man but he seemed to evoke nothing but rage and revulsion from the people who had kidnapped her. There is always another side to a story and truths that never see the light of day. But, the question remained, was she willing to hear the truth, or did the possibility that it may not be palatable put her off?

She looked around. Her captor stood at the door. Ducking his head out into the corridor, he beckoned someone standing outside. Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. When he was still, he seemed so calm. His face was relaxed and literally beautiful. Was he really such a bad person?

She hesitated. "You probably aren't going to answer this but I'll take my chances on it. I mean, it would be really weird if all this happened and I didn't bother asking you even once."

Kenshin looked back at her. "What is it?"

"What is your name?"

He was taken aback. Blinking a few times, he opened and shut his mouth twice before bending his head and finally replying. "Himura. Himura Kenshin."

Inspite of herself, Kaoru smiled. "It's a nice name. It fits you somehow."

Kenshin smiled. "Thank you."

There was a knock on the door and Misao appeared. Kaoru sneered as Misao entered the room with a sullen expression. Misao looked at her once and averted her eyes. If looks could kill, Misao would've been dead the instant she stepped into the room. Kaoru kept staring murderously at her.

Kenshin cleared his throat.

"Misao, get Miss Kaoru some food and clean clothes, and see that she rests. Katsura will be coming to collect her soon."

Misao bristled. "Why me? Why can't you get Omasu or Okon to baby sit her?"

Kenshin smiled. "Because I trust you to do a good job."

Kaoru stuck her chin out. "There's no way I'm going anywhere with her. Forget it."

"Save the princess act Kaoru. It's not like I'm dying to take care of you." Misao shot back.

Kenshin broke in. "Ladies, please be civil."

Misao peppered off a colourful retort. She walked forward and clamped her hand around Kaoru's elbow. She pulled her forward. Kaoru jostled back and pulled her arm away from Misao. She turned to Kenshin.

"I said I wasn't going anywhere with this bitch. I meant it."

"Miss Kaoru, much as I would love to have your company, I simply do not have the time. I'm sure you can cope with my absence for at least a couple of hours. It's not that long."

Kaoru sputtered. "What! Ugh…what made you think that I even wanted to be with you? I don't like you! I don't want to have anything to do with you, oh god; I'm not even attracted to you! Stop thinking like that!"

Kaoru stopped short when she saw the devilish smile lighting up Misao's face.

"What's so funny, Misao?"

Misao smirked. "Well, for someone who claims to hate you so much, she doth protest too much, don't you think Himura?"

Kenshin glanced back sternly. "Get going Misao."

Misao tugged at Kaoru's elbow again, pulling her out of the room. They followed a long corridor, taking a left at the end. A few more rooms later, Misao pulled a bunch of keys out of her pocket and shook them. Picking a small bronze key, she dug it into the keyhole and turned. The door opened onto a winding staircase. The girls climbed the stairs in silence. There was a small room at the top. Misao stepped aside and jerked her head, gesturing Kaoru to walk in first. Kaoru stepped past her, her eyes boring into her former friend. The hurt caused by the betrayal was still fresh and raw.

Misao entered and shut the door behind her. The walls of the room were bare, painted a soft shade of grey. There was only one window. It was high in the wall, far above Kaoru's reach and barred across with iron. It was a room meant to contain, to conceal and imprison. Misao pulled one corner of a tatami mat to reveal the wooden floor underneath. She reached for a metal ring on the floor and hoisted it up. A rectangular piece of the wooden planks rose to reveal a small hiding place inside. Kaoru peered over Misao's shoulder, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Her eyes opened wide as she espied swords, the kind you'd only see in a museum neatly stacked one against another. They all had an accompanying short sword, probably for ceremonial purposes. There were other weapons as well, kunai, sharp discs of hard metal, hooks, arm guards, needles, and spears. Misao withdrew her hand, fishing out some clothes. The trapdoor slammed shut as she dropped the ring unceremoniously. Kaoru jumped.

Misao threw the clothes towards her. They were simple; a pair of worn jeans and a white cotton shirt. They felt crisp and smelled faintly of flowers. Kaoru picked the clothes up slowly.

"You'd better change fast. Himura will want to see you before Katsura gets here."

Kaoru looked at Misao poisonously. "Fine. Get out."

Misao shook her head. "I'm sorry. You're going to have to change with me here. I'll just turn towards the door. Tell me when you're done."

"How do you know I won't strike you the minute your back is turned?"

"You wouldn't accomplish much. Besides, the house is a labyrinth. You'd get lost even if you managed to leave this room, which is unlikely."

Kaoru smirked. "You have everything planned out, don't you Misao? Everything moves like clockwork. I never imagined deceit would be so clinical."

Misao flinched. She turned around. "Hurry up and change."

Kaoru glared at her for a few minutes. She raised her hand to strike her but stopped. Her fist shook with the pressure but she stepped back. Misao was right. There was no escape at the moment. She had to wait and bide her time. Her hands dropped to her sides.

Kaoru reached behind and pulled the zipper of her dress down. She slipped the dress off her shoulders. It slid past her hips and landed around her ankles. Kaoru kicked it away. She quietly pulled the shirt on, slipping the buttons into the button-holes slowly.

As she was pulling the jeans up, she tossed a glance towards the trapdoor once again.

"What's with all those weapons?"

Perhaps it was the fact that the question had been asked by Kaoru, or perhaps Misao was eager for her to know about the Oniwabanshu or maybe the façade of trust that had been built during her assignment resurfaced once more but despite the focus on secrecy, Misao found herself talking to Kaoru.

"We are spies. We have been spies for centuries. During the revolution, the Oniwabanshu were key players in the fighting. But, that doesn't matter anymore. And anyway, only the kunai and shuriken belong to us. The swords belong to Himura. Hitokiri usually need more than one sword."

Kaoru froze. "What …..did you say?"

Misao turned around haltingly. "What happened?"

Kaoru wet her lips with her tongue. "Kenshin…..I mean Himura…..did you say he was a hitokiri? An assassin?"

Misao smiled sadly. "You'll never know what he was, or what he meant for this country and for the revolution." She bent her head. "Himura was the strongest of all the Patriots. He worked as an assassin for Kogoro Katsura, your uncle.

"What? He was an assassin for my uncle?" Kaoru sat back in shock. Misao's ferocity and conviction made it clear that she was not lying.

She held her head in her hands. "That doesn't make sense. Why would my uncle need an assassin?"

Misao stared at her feet. "Kogoro Katsura was in charge of strategy and planning for the Ishin Shishi. A part of that strategising included identifying targets within the Shogunate and its supporters who needed to be eliminated. Katsura decided who needed to be killed, and Himura would do the job for him."

"I can't believe that. You're lying! My uncle would never order somebody's assassination."

"No? Just how do you think the revolution was won? The Ishin Shishi took out their main opponents so that the Shogunate was weakened."

"No. I know about this. I've read about it. There were battles, battles in the streets because the people rose as one and fought against the Shogunate and….." She trailed off.

Misao stretched her arms above her head. She looked at Kaoru and sighed. Sitting cross-legged, she placed her hands on her knees and spoke.

"Look, I didn't want to be the one to tell you all of this Kaoru. I asked Himura to tell you but he didn't want you to know anything, so that you could go back to your life and not think about it."

"This cannot be true."

Misao shrugged. "I am sorry, but it is. Himura didn't want to involve you but he couldn't trust Katsura to be truthful with him. He knows Katsura very well. Himura knew that unless we threatened something precious to him, he would not talk."

She stood and picked up the dress Kaoru had just discarded and stuffed it into a laundry bag. She quietly unlocked the key and placed the bag outside on the staircase.

"Wait a minute. What does he want from my uncle?"

"Information. Truth. Answers. Answers he will not get anywhere else."

Kaoru sat up straight. "Let me get this right. Himura wants some information from my uncle and that's why he kidnapped me?"

Misao nodded. "That's right. You are the only thing he could count on. Himura knew that he couldn't get anything out of Katsura any other way. We didn't mean to hurt you Kaoru. But we needed to find out the truth for ourselves. The rumours we've heard, the stories floating around……we needed to check for ourselves."

"That's bullshit! I've never heard such crap in my life. You brought me to the hideout of a dangerous criminal and you still have the gall to sit there and pretend as if what you're doing is right! I can't believe your hypocrisy. You're trying to insinuate that my uncle who has never done anything but good for this country is wrong and your boss who's an assassin is right!"

Misao set her shoulders defensively. "I am not trying to insinuate anything. I am telling you that your uncle is not a saint. Maybe what Kenshin did was wrong, but he did it for the revolution. He became a hitokiri so that people like you or me could choose to live as we wished. He didn't lie about his methods or his ideas. He didn't try to hide behind pretty words. He did what he thought was right and he stands by it, which is more than I can say for your uncle!"

"My uncle was a Patriot!"

"Yes! A patriot who forgot the very people who made him!"

"Misao." Kenshin's soft voice crept into the room. Misao snapped her head towards the door, where Kenshin stood quietly, holding a bowl of miso soup. He shook his head. She backed away from Kaoru and stormed out of the room. Kaoru turned away, facing the wall. Her shoulder heaved as she panted. Shouting at Misao hadn't felt very nice.

She heard him sit down beside her. Kenshin placed the soup-bowl in front of her.

"You need to finish this."

Kaoru reached out to grab the bowl. She picked it up and flung it clear across the room. The bowl crashed into pieces and the soup went hurtling across the floor, staining the tatami mats.

"I don't want it!"

Kenshin didn't say a word. He stood and quietly picked up the pieces of the bowl. When he had collected them all off the floor, he went and placed the pieces outside. The soup had seeped into the mats; there was nothing he could do for them. He simply picked them up and put them outside as well.

He returned and sat down across her, leaning against the wall. Kaoru glanced at him. He was staring at the floor. She bit her lip.

"Are you really an assassin?"

"What difference does it make?"

She hesitated. "It makes a huge difference."

"Very well then. I used to be an assassin."

"So, you aren't one anymore? I mean, you don't go about killing people anymore do you?"

"Why does it concern you, Miss Kaoru?"

"Because I want to believe that you're not a bad person. Because even now, despite all the hurt you've caused me, I really want to believe that you aren't….going to hurt me." Her words could barely be heard. She was whispering so softly.

"If that is all the assurance you want, I'll make it clear to you. I will never hurt you Miss Kaoru. And I apologise for everything I've put you through in the past four months."

Kaoru smiled ruefully. "Life's been hellish only since the past two days."

Kenshin smiled back. "Really? I would have thought you'd be going through hell having to listen to Misao prattle on and on for four months."

Her smile disappeared. "I can't ever forgive her."

"Why not? If there's anyone you shouldn't be able to forgive, it's me. Whatever she did, she did at my behest. I sent her to shadow you. I sent her to bring you back."

"I thought she was a friend. I trusted her!"

"Miss Kaoru, perhaps you have not noticed but, she is the only person who has given you any answers here."

Kaoru was silent. Kenshin leaned back against the wall. The captor and captive both seemed to be lost in a world of their own.

* * *

Sanosuke waited while Fujita Goro a.k.a Saitou Hajime looked over the file that had been created on Kaoru Kamiya's disappearance. The flinty officer read each page painstakingly. Every now and then, he would look up from the file to stare at the man sitting in front of him. Sanosuke forced himself not to look away each time those relentless eyes bore into him.

Saitou shut the file and tossed it onto his desk. He stood and walked to the solitary window in his room. His movements were slow and measured. Everything about him had the air of unhurried, cool control. He was in charge and it showed. He calmly took a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and struck a match against the 'NO SMOKING' sign on the wall. The match flared for an instant, lighting the tip of the cigarette before burning out. Saitou tossed the match into the bin and looked out.

"How long have you known this Kaoru Kamiya?"

Sanosuke turned in his seat so he could face the officer. "Forever."

Saitou gave him an exacting look.

Sanosuke cleared his throat. "I mean, I've known Kaoru since pre-school. We grew up in the same neighbourhood. Her father used to run a dojo and I used to drop by for free meals."

"Is that so? You made freeloading a profession I see."

"Hey. I wasn't freeloading. I used to do my share of the chores around the house. I would fix things and help shingle the roof and stuff."

"Hmmm. Freeloader and handyman. Quite the charming combination."

"Hey! What're you getting at? This is about Kaoru, not me!'

"Yes, yes I know. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Well, we were at our favourite club. I was dancing with my girlfriend. Kaoru was sitting at the table with another friend of ours, Misao. When I returned, she wasn't there." He stopped.

Saitou stubbed the cigarette out. "Go on."

"Misao says that she saw Kaoru dancing with some guy, and that's all we know. I tried to get to Misao but she had to leave urgently. Her mother was ill and she had to go back."

Saitou looked up sharply. "Go back where?"

"Nagasaki."

"Hmm. That was the last time any of you saw Ms Kamiya, isn't that right?"

"Yes."

"Tell me something Mr. Sagara. Does Ms Kamiya tell you everything about herself?"

Sanosuke's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if she were dating somebody, would she tell you?"

"What kind of a stupid question is that? Of course she'd tell me!"

"Are you sure? Maybe she went off on a private weekend with a boyfriend she didn't want you to know about."

Sanosuke stood up. The chair he'd been sitting on clattered to the floor. "Kaoru would never do that! If she had a boyfriend, I'd know him. If she were going on a vacation or private weekend, as you call it, I'd be the first to know! But there's nothing like that! Kaoru's a very private person. She doesn't like guys easily. There's no way she'd go off somewhere with some guy she'd just met! She's in danger! And if you won't do anything about it, I will!"

Sanosuke turned and stormed out of the office. He pushed an officer on his way out. The officer turned and called out indignantly but it was very doubtful that Sanosuke heard him.

Chou exclaimed. "Boss, the man is vandalising policemen! Aren't you going to pull him in?"

Saitou chuckled. "No Chou. We don't need to do anything about him. He'll cool down in time."

"If you say so boss. By the way, what about this girl?"

"Yeah the girl. Did you recognise her?" Saitou picked the file up, closely scrutinising the face of the missing girl.

Chou scratched his head. "She does seem familiar. But I can't put my finger on where I've seen her before."

Saitou smirked. "I'm not surprised. That is the niece of Kogoro Katsura, the Interior Minister of Defence."

"She is?!" Chou exclaimed incredulously. He took the picture out once more, carefully studying it. "I never would have thought it."

"Exactly. Don't you think it's strange? The niece of one of the most powerful men in the country goes missing yet we do not receive an official summons for it but a raggedy fellow off the street comes to us for help."

"That means the Minister does not know of her disappearance."

"Or that he does not want us to know of her disappearance."

Chou looked at his superior curiously. What was it that Saitou had figured out from his short conversation with Sagara? He looked at the picture of the girl once more. She was smiling. He turned to Saitou once more but he was no longer there. He had left, leaving behind a trail of cigarette smoke.

* * *

Katsura sank. The velvety soft feel of the armchair caressed his body. He snuggled lower into the chair. His feet were propped up on a cushion on the table. A warm cup of tea rested at his elbow. A manservant was laying his evening clothes out meticulously, brushing a spot of lint off here, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles there. Presently, he finished readying his master's garment for the evening and left after inquiring whether the master would like anything else. Katsura shook his head and allowed a benign smile to light his features.

The manservant beamed with pride and pleasure. He bowed out of the room. The wooden heels of his shoes clicked on the marble floor of the corridor. The sound was soon buried in the host of small noises emanating from all over the house. Floors being mopped one last time, cutlery clinking, glassware and crystal being placed on tables. Flowers arranged and cut in lightning speed. Kogoro Katsura was expecting guests.

He was playing host to his comrades, fellow commanders of the former Ishin Shishi, now metamorphosed into the ruling oligarchy of the country.

He rose from the armchair and dressed with care. He needed to look in control and he needed to show that his hand was still powerful. That he commanded respect, and inspired fear. That he was without doubt, deserving to be in the exalted company of his guests. That he was the man who had commanded the Battousai for all the time he was a part of the Ishin Shishi. He was still the Kogoro Katsura who had found a way to bend the Battousai to his will, and to control him, like a martinet controls his mannequins. The Battousai had been made to do his bidding; such was the power he had. He had to remember that. Remember and never forget.

He looked at his reflection. His eyes seemed tired. The skin under his eyes was dark as well. He shivered. The Battousai was free; he longer had any hold on him. If he knew where Kenshin was hiding, then his troubles would be over. It would not be difficult to imprison him and persuade him once more. No matter how strong the man, the drug always won. The deadly poison he had once unleashed in the Battousai's mind could work again, yes, it could work again.

"_Is this the drug?"_

"_Yes Katsura-sama. But…but it's very potent. Please be careful with it,"_

"_But of course. We shall use it very sparingly."_

"_A few drops taken at mealtimes will render the patient incapable of remembering whatever transpired in the hours preceding."_

"_That's exactly what I need. The work of an assassin can be so brutal. I do not want to torture them by letting them remember what they had to do for the sake of revolution. Its better that they forget. Killing can be so strenuous."_

"_And Katsura-sama! A word of caution, do not let them get accustomed to this drug. It could have severe side-effects."_

"_What kind of side-effects?"_

"_Painful seizures, the patient could go mad. There is no guarantee that the memory loss is permanent, when they see what they have done, they might not be able to take it. The physical pain alone could render them useless."_

"_I shall remember that."_

A knock on the door pulled Katsura out from his reminiscence. He turned. His butler stood at the door.

"You guests have arrived, Sir."

Katsura nodded, and returned to his reflection. The dark circles had not yet disappeared but the mere memory of the years when the drug had turned Kenshin into a soulless killing machine had warmed his heart. He dipped a small sponge into a vial of foundation and smeared it under his eyes before smoothing it over his cheeks. The artificial colour blended into his skin and removed the telltale marks of fear and tiredness.

He put the foundation away. Then carefully, he lifted the top of his lacquered dressing table. It revealed a false bottom. Katsura slid a piece of board aside. Nestled inside a small hole was the vial of the drug he'd used on Kenshin years ago.

He stroked the vial gently with his fingers and picked it up. Holding it up to the light of the lamp, he purred with pleasure. The crystalline liquid was beautiful.

"He must be found."

The butler raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon, Sir?"

Katsura pursed his lips. "Nothing. Let's go." _Kenshin must be found. If he were with me again, what couldn't I do? The Council reports to a Triad now, but with Kenshin under my control, and the other two dead…..what couldn't I do? I must not fear him. I must not be afraid. He should fear me. He should be afraid. Just like the old days._

The door to the banquet hall opened. His associates rose to greet him.

"My friends, it is good to see you again. I feel as though I could power another revolution."

**Author's Note**

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary**: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes that there is more to the story than what meets the eye. BKK.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The situations in this story however, do belong to me.

**Rating**: T. This chapter has very slight references to torture.

Please not that the section in italics refers to the past. It is a flashback.

* * *

**The Battousai****'****s Return**

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**Chapter Seven**

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* * *

**Recap **

He looked at his reflection. His eyes seemed tired. The skin under his eyes was dark as well. He shivered. The Battousai was free; he longer had any hold on him. If he knew where Kenshin was hiding, then his troubles would be over. It would not be difficult to imprison him and persuade him once more. No matter how strong the man, the drug always won. The deadly poison he had once unleashed in the Battousai's mind could work again, yes, it could work again.

"_Is this the drug?"_

"_Yes Katsura-sama. But…but it'__s very potent. Please be careful with it,"_

"_But of course. We shall use it very sparingly."_

"_A few drops taken at mealtimes will render the patient incapable of remembering whatever transpired in the hours preceding."_

"_That'__s exactly what I need. The work of an assassin can be so brutal. I do not want to torture them by letting them remember what they had to do for the sake of revolution. Its better that they forget. Killing can be so strenuous."_

"_And Katsura-sama! A word of caution, do not let them get accustomed to this drug. It could have severe side-effects."_

"_What kind of side-effects?"_

"_Painful seizures, the patient could go mad. There is no guarantee that the memory loss is permanent, when they see what they have done, they might not be able to take it. The physical pain alone could render them useless."_

"_I shall remember that."_

A knock on the door pulled Katsura out from his reminiscence. He turned. His butler stood at the door.

"You guests have arrived, Sir."

Katsura nodded, and returned to his reflection. The dark circles had not yet disappeared but the mere memory of the years when the drug had turned Kenshin into a soulless killing machine had warmed his heart. He dipped a small sponge into a vial of foundation and smeared it under his eyes before smoothing it over his cheeks. The artificial colour blended into his skin and removed the telltale marks of fear and tiredness.

He put the foundation away. Then carefully, he lifted the top of his lacquered dressing table. It revealed a false bottom. Katsura slid a piece of board aside. Nestled inside a small hole was the vial of the drug he'd used on Kenshin years ago.

He stroked the vial gently with his fingers and picked it up. Holding it up to the light of the lamp, he purred with pleasure. The crystalline liquid was beautiful.

"He must be found."

**End of Recap**

Long, delicate flutes of crystal clinked softly as the triumvirate of the nation raised a toast to their success and the success of the formula that had kept the country on a steady path to wealth, development and prosperity. His fellow founders were pleased with the way certain policies had been inducted and implemented.

He bent his head, accepting the generous praise they showered on him.

Drinks were followed by a fabulous eight course dinner. Slender waiters in elegant fitted black pants and white silk shirts glided in and out of the room bearing huge platters piled with food. The conversation concentrated on the origins and merits of different wines. The authenticity of French wines was questioned with some temerity following news reports reporting entire vineyards being lost in fire and arson.

In his many years of being at the centre of public life, Katsura had mastered the art of being in two places at once. He remained seated with his comrades discussing the superiority of the 1864 vintages as opposed to others but his mind was busy thinking of ways in which he could trap the Battousai into service once more.

He twirled the empty flute between two fingers. There was no information regarding the Battousai. All the spies he had employed had returned with different accounts of his death; not one had the sense to check the stories; they simply took it for granted that Kenshin was dead. Nobody believed that he was alive. "The Hitokiri Battousai was killed in the final battle of the revolution" - was the standard reply they all brought back, even after years of searching. Fools! He gripped the stalk of his glass.

Kenshin had been the strongest of his hitokiri and also the most influential. Such was his calibre that even the lords of the Choshu faction treated him with awe and respect. There had never been such a strong and capable swordsman in their ranks. Strength and speed were both his slaves. Izuka often said that Kenshin's skill was to be seen but not understood. Just as well, because it would be hard to understand the incredible fluidity of his movements and the speed of his technique. The speed at which he moved was phenomenal, godlike; it was inhuman.

Even though the glaring gap left by his departure had been filled by Shishio, every member of the Choshu faction felt his absence. In the beginning he had just been another Choshu hitokiri, then as the body count increased and a frenetic fear of him took a hold of the Shinsengumi, he became the Hitokiri Battousai, the only assassin of the Ishin Shishi worth knowing. His legend grew even as the self-doubt and questions in his mind began to slowly tear him asunder. Hitokiri Battousai was a demon, a monster, a man without a soul, undefeatable, indestructible, invincible.

It was ironic since the men who dubbed him thus, would often pass him by on the street and not even notice his existence. When they thought of the hitokiri Battousai, in their mind's eye they saw a giant of a man with dark, mad eyes and foam frothing at his mouth. The slender, soft-spoken and calm creature they were finally faced with broke them to pieces. It was not a monster or a demon who was responsible for so much death in Kyoto, but a man as simple and straightforward as the stream. There was no guile in his manner or arrogance in his speech. Only the steadfastness that arises from a complete and unsheltered belief in one self.

The only person who possibly had the strength and the skill to defeat him was the man who had taught him. And there was no knowing where he was now. Kenshin had left his teacher's home to join the revolution. Kenshin had never spoken about it - he was an intensely reserved and private person - but even so, he could guess that they hadn't parted on good terms.

"There seems to be a lot on your mind Katsura-san."

Katsura shook his head and smiled amiably. "Not at all. I was just reminiscing." he stood and walked across the room. The floor-to-ceiling windows showed a glittering, modern city immense with potential and promise. Katsura felt his chest swell with pride at the sight of the tangible results of his experiment with revolution. He turned to his partners.

"I was thinking about the way ahead. The long road that we have travelled together, the challenges we have faced and the triumph at the end of a long and bitter battle…these things happen for a reason." The other two founding members of the former Ishin Shishi nodded solemnly, glancing at each other.

Katsura continued. "We were not the only patriots in the clan, nor were we the only ones who had power but have you ever thought why….why was it that you and I succeeded where the others crumbled under the might of the Shogunate?"

Satsuma set his glass on an ornate wooden table with a lacquered top. He looked towards Katsura. "It was simple. We knew we had to stand by each other. The other leaders never rose above their petty squabbling. But we chose to win the revolution first and share the spoils later."

The third man present chuckled. "And most importantly Katsura-san…..we had, or rather you had the Battousai. As long as the Battousai trusted and listened to you, we knew we had no one else to fear. His trust in you and his skill as a hitokiri were our greatest weapons!"

Katsura shivered He looked out the window where millions of lights coruscated off towering mammoths of glass and steel. The Battousai was a phenomenon that happened once, only once in a lifetime. He remembered the day he had first met Kenshin like it were yesterday. He still remembered the trembling of his limbs and the cold breath escaping his mouth as he watched a boy no older than fifteen slice through a armoured log as though it were silk. It lasted for a mere fraction of a second, perhaps even less than that. The glint of his sword seemed a mere trick of light, the sweet hiss of the blade as it slid back into the sheath was a whisper on the wind. Yet what he had seen would haunt him forever.

_The boy was a spectre. His pale, gaunt face belied the strength that lived in his arm and his vibrant eyes made the men around him seem like shrunken puppets of flotsam._

_He didn't stop to think even for a second; he didn't need to! He had come to the country to find a hitokiri and the gods had graced him by sending an angel of death in the guise of a boy. His eyes followed the boy as he retreated to one side of the muddy field and sat down, oblivious to the crowds of swordsmen who were waiting to swing their swords next. _

_Takasugi's chuckle forced him to tear his eyes away from him. _

"_Your preference is becoming younger and younger, Katsura-san." Takasugi leant heavily against a tree. _

"_Takasugi, that boy…."_

"_Oh him. The angel of death." He pulled the corners of his mouth to form an uneasy grin._

"_He is the one I want. He will become the next hitokiri of the Ishin Shishi." he gripped the handle of his umbrella tightly. _

_Takasugi looked grave. A dragonfly fluttered close to his face. He swatted it away unceremoniously. He jerked his head towards a house perched atop the hill that overlooked the fields._

"_Come inside." He led the way into his house. It was a rambling, old house that held an air of abandonment and neglect even as men and boys passed through its gates every few minutes. It was a camp, a shelter for those who had nowhere else to go. Some were led there by bloodlust, some by patriotism, others still with the promise of being taken to Kyoto if they were good enough. It was a means to get somewhere, to be somebody. For dozens of aspiring swordsmen and amateur swords-for-hire, the house stood at the crossroads of destiny. They came from all four directions, searching for work and glory. But for all the awe it inspired in neighbouring prefectures and beyond, it remained merely a place to stop, never a destination. _

_Takasugi waited at the door for his eager guest. He led Katsura to a small, unassuming room used for strategic meetings when the Choshu rebels ventured out on missions in the provinces. He sat and gestured Katsura to do the same. _

"_That boy is special Katsura-san."_

_Katsura leaned forward impatiently. "I know. I can see that. That is precisely why you must give him to me."_

"_You will turn him into a hitokiri." Takasugi stared at him with hard eyes. _

"_Well of course! What else is there to be done? With him at our side, can you imagine? The Shinsengumi will be reduced to tears, and even the Shogunate will cease to be a threat. If this boy joins us, we can counter the Shisengumi on equal terms! We will no longer need to run and hide from them. The flames of the revolution will spread and reach the sky!"_

_Takasugi sighed. "I am not too eager to send a child into that hellhole."_

_Katsura pursed his lips together, making his displeasure apparent. "That hellhole is Kyoto. The heart of Japan and the heart of this revolution, hellhole or not, that is where he must come eventually."_

_Takasugi looked at him. The fiery determination in Katsura's eyes worried him. But, there was little he could do if Katsura had made up his mind, except….there was one promise he could extract from him. _

"_Takasugi…what are you thinking about?"_

"_He is not ready. Katsura-san, he hasn't yet completed his training."_

"_Whatever he has finished will serve him well enough. I have never, in my entire existence seen a battojutsu executed as fast and cleanly as he demonstrated today. What more training does he need?"_

"_Katsura-san, he is still a child. Would you ask a child to kill another human?"_

"_It's been done before. He would not be here if he didn't know what he was getting into. Takasugi, do not try to dissuade me. His skill speaks for his emotional balance, but just to assure you, I will speak to him, frankly, and if he is ready to become an hitokiri, I shall take him to Kyoto with me."_

_Takasugi exhaled slowly. "Very well. You will have the boy if you must but, in return I must ask for a promise." _

_Katsura was a little surprised. This was most unexpected. "What sort of promise?"_

_Takasugi pressed the palm of his hand flat into the floor and spoke. "A deal may be considered legitimate only when it maintains a fine equilibrium. When you take this boy and turn him into an assassin for your cause, you will be responsible for what he becomes. In order to gain the advantage of his sword in this struggle, you must give up your own."_

_Katsura seemed confused. "What do you want of me, Takasugi? Speak plainly, don't meander about the point like this."_

_Takasugi raised his eyes. "You must promise that you will never draw your sword again, not to fight, not even to save your life. Your days as a samurai end as of today. You are forbidden to use your sword. That is the only promise I will accept if I am to send the boy with you."_

_Katsura blinked. He did not respond at once, but when he collected his thoughts once again, he replied. "So be it. I give you my word. I will never draw my sword again, even if it means giving up my life."_

_Takasugi nodded gravely. His eyes were hard and unrelenting. "I will hold you to that promise Katsura-san."_

_Katsura flared in anger. "Do you doubt my word?"_

_Takasugi bent his head, as if in defeat. "I only pray I never have to."_

_Katsura twitched his nose in disgust. "Pathetic. This disease has hollowed you inside out. You are no longer the Takasugi I remember. You've become a snivelling, petrified shell."_

_Takasugi ignored his words. He stood. "I will take you to Kenshin now."_

_-_

_-_

"_You must kill, for me. Do you understand? I will ask you to take the lives of certain people for our cause. Are you willing to do this?"_

_The boy stared back at him . His cheeks seemed to shrink and his eyes seemed to grow to twice their size. He bent his head and nodded slowly. _

_He replied, in a voice as gentle as a summer breeze. "I understand."_

_Katsura beamed. "Good. You won't regret this decision."_

-

-

Katsura bent his head back until he heard a distinctive cracking sound from his neck. He looked out the window once more. His guests had left. Thankfully, they suspected nothing. But, they had always taken everything he told them at face value. Somewhere, amongst the millions of people living in the city of Tokyo, Kenshin was hidden away. His most effective hitokiri was a free man, and this, more than anything else terrified him. Kenshin, in his senses, thinking and acting deliberately against him….it was a horrifying prospect, and one situation he had never imagined himself in. He was no coward, but the mere mention of Kenshin's name now was enough to make him tremble with fear.

He pulled the silken cravat free from his neck. Well, he couldn't blame Kenshin for hating him, especially after he'd found out about the drug. That incident that served as a catalyst for his disappearance.

-

-

The trouble with assassins is that sooner or later, they sprout a sense of curiosity. And start thinking. Kenshin was no different. After two years of killing targets and taking care of several potential problems, he began to show signs of dissent. He never protested. No! That would be too obvious; and Kenshin was never obvious. He made his opinion clear in a very subtle way. If you weren't paying attention, you would miss the quiet traces of dissatisfaction and unrest emanating from him. Katsura never made that mistake. He had discovered long ago that a general should keep a close eye on his enemies and a closer eye on the men he entrusted to do his dirty work.

Any lapse in observation and comprehension could mean betrayal or even death.

Kenshin was slowly beginning to break underneath the calm, cold exterior he had built as the Battousai. His hand never shook as he cut down his opponents, but he was spending too much time staring at their dead bodies, watching the blood seep into the ground. He would then return to the meeting house and sit in a corner without a word. It occurred to him, that his chief hitokiri was perhaps lonely, very lonely.

He spoke to Izuka about it, however it probably made matters worse since Izuka's idea of "cheering" Kenshin up consisted of tricking Kenshin into accompanying him on a visit to the whore houses of east Kyoto. Kenshin put an end to it the first night itself by hanging Izuka upside down in a large oak outside the pleasure house before walking away in a huff.

Lust and the lure of a warm, soft bed was not enough to draw Kenshin out. He sought something that was beyond anyone's power to give. Kenshin wanted solace and peace of mind. He wanted to know that the life he was leading was not without purpose, that the lives he was taking away in the name of revolution were going to be someday honoured by the righteousness and justice of the cause. But, little by little, Kenshin was beginning to understand, that a cause propped up with the blood of innocents would rot. His soul cringed and shied away from the killing brought about with every sunset.

And although he didn't know it, it was only the drug that kept him going. The drug made him forget the killing, the screams, the glassy stare of corpses and the macabre dance of death surrounding him. But it did not help in countering the pallor of self-doubt and anguish in his soul. The forgetfulness that came with the drug confused him even further. He did not remember the killing but the guilt remained in his heart. Kenshin was perplexed, stupefied at his emotions. What was happening? What was he doing wrong that he felt like a sinner? He found no answers…..anywhere.

Then, one day….the dam broke.

He would never know whether it was deliberate eavesdropping on Kenshin's part or not. But the fact remained, that the Hitokiri Battousai found out what was the purpose of the daily gift of sake given to him by the leader of the revolution. As the slumber of the drug wore away, Kenshin realized that he'd been played like a puppet.

Katsura closed his eyes.

-

-

"_Stop! You cannot enter! Katsura-sama does not wish to be disturbed!" _

"_Out of my way." Kenshin flung the delicate rice paper door aside and strode in. His face showed signs of carefully, painstakingly controlled fury. He tossed a vial on the floor. It rolled towards Katsura and stopped at his feet._

"_Does this seem familiar, Katsura-san?"_

_Katsura watched him warily. He put down his sake cup, and gestured the lady playing chess with him to leave. She stood and glided out of the room._

"_What's the matter Kenshin? You seem upset."_

"_Why did you do it? Something so disgusting, so low. Why?"_

_Katsura sighed. There was no use lying to him now. He already knew everything it seemed. _

"_I was just trying to help you. I couldn't bear seeing you in such distress. I wanted to do something for you. I thought it would help."_

"_A drug…that makes me forget the people I killed….how on earth was that going to help me?"_

"_You must be disturbed by them, aren't you?"_

"_They were not meant to be forgotten. They gave their lives for something they believe in. I took their lives for something I believe in. They had honour in their deaths."_

"_Kenshin, I didn't know you thought that way."_

"_No, you did not. You had no right to treat me this way." He turned. "I can no longer trust you, or your motives. I am beginning to wonder if even half of those people you've asked me to kill had anything to do with the revolution."_

"_Kenshin…."_

"_I am leaving."_

"_What? No! Wait Kenshin! Do not leave like us, not when we are so close to our goals. You may doubt my motives now but you must remember that we are both fighting the same war, fighting for the oppressed!"_

"_Are we? I wonder if we are."_

"_Kenshin, have you forgotten the villages emptied by the Shogunate? The taxes in deep winter…no clothes, no food, just taxes, taxes, taxes! Do not punish the innocent people who are depending on us to deliver them from the Shogunate's oppression."_

"_I am not so important, Katsura-san….and neither are you. The revolution will not die if I leave."_

"_But it will die in Kyoto. You are the most powerful entity in this fight Kenshin. We will win if you stay, and lose if you go."_

_He glanced at him but Kenshin was silent, as though he were in another world. The words of his former master echoed in his ears as he realized the mistake he had made in choosing a side in the war. _

_He bent his head. Katsura waited eagerly. _

"_I will stay….till Toba Fushimi. After that, I will leave. And you will not look for me."_

"_Leave….but where will you go."_

"_Wherever the road takes me."_

-

-

Kaoru sat silently in the backseat of the car. The former chief assassin of the Ishin Shishi sat in front next to Misao, who was driving.

"He's late Himura. I smell a rat."

"Patience. He'll be here soon."

"But he's late!"

"That's an old habit of his. Katsura-san believes that being late makes him seem important. He hasn't changed much."

"I don't know how you can act so calm, as though nothing has happened." Kaoru spoke in annoyance.

Kenshin looked at her through the rear-view mirror. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't be calm?"

Kaoru felt her eyebrows shoot upwards. "Oh nothing. Just the fact that the most powerful man in this country is coming to see you and he's not going to be very pleased since you've kidnapped his niece….but that shouldn't bother you, right?" She replied sarcastically.

Kenshin merely smiled. Misao nudged him. A car entered the one-way street and parked a little distance away. A second car appeared but did not enter; it hovered at the entrance and then drove off.

Misao clicked her tongue against her teeth. "There's too many cars about Himura. Something's not right."

Kenshin nodded. "Keep your eyes peeled Misao."

-

-

"Sano, are you asleep?"

Megumi leaned across the bed. She pressed his shoulder lightly. Sanosuke mumbled something unintelligible and wriggled away. Megumi pursed her lips together and tried once more. She sat up in bed and stared at his back. Her eyes fell on a scar on his lower back. It was a ugly, whitish bit of skin that didn't fit with the rest of his smooth, toned back. She remembered how he'd got that scar. When one of Kaoru's ex-boyfriends decided to get rough with her, Sanosuke beat the living daylights out of him.

She had been so angry. She understood friendship and the need to stand up for your friends but beating a man within an inch of life because of a sexual advance was a little too much in her book. Besides, Kaoru really needed to start looking after herself and choosing better guys to date for starters. The incident didn't end there. The guy returned with two of the meanest, burliest men she'd ever seen in her life. They were waiting for Sanosuke when he came to pick her up from work. It was terrifying. Sanosuke wasn't worried but her heart was in her mouth. It was the longest fifteen minutes of her life, she'd stood glued to a wall, praying that he'd be alright.

The fight ended with one of them managing to slash Sano's back. They ran away, whooping and laughing with insane joy. That was almost a year ago, and now she was back at that wall, praying for Sano's safety, beating the tears and fear back. The fear that something might happen to him, that she may lose him to a knife or bullet he couldn't dodge. She drew her knees up to her chest.

Her eyes burned and a lump formed in her throat. The sound of her erratic sobbing woke Sanosuke. He turned in bed and blinked at the sight of Megumi sitting there, crying as though her heart would break. He sat up and pulled her into his arms. He'd ask questions later. Right now, she needed comforting.

He rubbed her back slowly, drawing her deeper into his embrace. Megumi curled her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His skin felt cool. Sano held her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his fingers.

"Alright Fox, what's up? Where'd the rain come from?"

Megumi shook her head and murmured something. Sanosuke grinned. He cocked his head to a side and said, "Sorry, I don't speak Crying Female."

Megumi snapped her head up and threw a light punch at him. "Sano!"

He laughed. "That's more like it. That's the girl that drives me wild, not this weird snivelling one." He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "What's bothering you?"

Megumi looked at him. Her eyes were still swollen from crying, and her nose was red. "Sano….I love you."

Sanosuke smiled. "Oh baby, I love you too."

"No Sano…I mean…I really love you and I can't….I can't do anything without you so….please tell me you're not doing anything dangerous."

Sano bit his lip. "Megumi, what's gotten into you? What is all this about, just come out and tell me."

Megumi breathed deeply. Sano looked at her expectantly. "Sano….I know you're worried about Kaoru, and I heard you tell Katsu about what happened at the police station."

Sano stopped smiling. "Alright."

"So I want to know…are you still looking for Kaoru?"

Sanosuke leaned back into the pillows. "Of course I am. I wouldn't let her down when she needed me."

"Looking for her is the police's job, Sano."

"Yeah, right. The police," he scoffed. "The police want me to believe that Kaoru took off with some guy she knew for ten minutes and went on some romantic getaway with him."

"Sano…."

"Megumi, they're not taking it seriously. Kaoru could be in serious danger."

"What if she isn't? Sano….Kaoru is not a kid anymore. She's going to be eighteen in a few days. She can take care of herself."

"I know she's not a kid anymore. I'm not treating her like one. But she hasn't called for days, hasn't been to her apartment, or her classes. None of her neighbours have seen her….she's disappeared! I need to find her before it's too late!"

Megumi pursed her lips. "And us? What about us, Sano?"

Sano frowned. "What about us?"

"You've been looking for her for the past four days. This is the first time I've had a chance to talk to you. You don't answer my calls, or when you do, you tell me you'll call back and never do. It's just Kaoru this, Kaoru that. Is there anything else on your mind?"

"Megumi, don't start this. I'm worried about her. I need time."

"And me? Don't I need your time? Or am I just something to fill the days by?"

"Megumi…..why are you being so difficult about this? Why is it so hard to understand?"

"Sano, compared to Kaoru, our relationship has no meaning for you!"

"That's bullshit Megumi and you know it. Kaoru is my friend and that's it. You're the one that I love but honestly, right now, you're behaving like a brat."

Sano turned and went to sleep again. Megumi buried her head in her hands.

-

-

A black car turned into the street. It stopped ten metres in. A man stepped out and held the passenger door open. Kenshin held his breath. Katsura stepped out. He was wearing a long black coat that reached his shins. The collar was turned up and he wore large sunglasses. Anyone who didn't know Katsura personally would mistake him for someone else. He said something to the man holding the door. The man nodded, and got back inside the car. Katsura began to walk forward. The car reversed and wheeled out of the street.

Misao swallowed and licked her lips. Kenshin turned to Kaoru. "Miss Kaoru, it's time to go."

Kaoru was surprised. "What? Already?"

Kenshin stepped out and held his hand up so Katsura would notice him. It worked. Katsura raised his hand in response. Kenshin opened the door of the passenger seat and held his hand out to Kaoru.

"Let's go."

Kaoru took his hand without a word. As she swung her legs out, Misao turned. "Kaoru!"

Kaoru stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

Kaoru simply stared at her. Kenshin tapped her on the shoulder. He pulled he out of the car. Misao put the car in gear and drove back a few paces. Kenshin held Kaoru's elbow gently and led her forward.

They stopped when the reached the middle of the street where Katsura was waiting for them. He smiled at Kaoru and nodded his head in acknowledgement to Kenshin.

"Kenshin, it is good to see you again."

"Speak for yourself."

"We were friends once. We trusted each other."

"You broke that trust. Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about this. I came to ask you about Shishio."

"Yes, I know."

"Your lovely niece wants to be home soon. You don't want to disappoint her, right?"

Katsura smiled at Kaoru once more. Kaoru frowned. His smile seemed fake and cloying. He hadn't even noticed her until Kenshin pointed her out. It was as though he didn't care if she were standing there, frightened out of her wits, wondering what was going on, what they were talking about among other things.

Katsura held a hand out. Kaoru looked at Kenshin. He nudged her forward.

"Go on."

Inexplicable as it was, she turned to look at him again. A weird sensation in the pit of her stomach told her something was going to go wrong. She swept her eyes over his face, memorizing every detail to heart. His eyes, the tilt of his sardonic smile, the quiet that engulfed him.

"Goodbye Miss Kaoru." He whispered. He seemed troubled and gave the impression that he was keeping himself in check.

"No….."

Katsura latched on to her hand and pulled her back. "Now my dear, don't worry about a thing. Just wait." He gestured and the black car pulled back into the street. The driver stepped out again, this time he ushered Kaoru inside. Kaoru craned her neck to gain a glimpse of the assassin. She spotted Misao sitting behind the wheel in the car parked further in.

"Time to start talking Katsura." The cold antagonism returned to his voice. Kaoru strained her ears to hear. She fumbled for the power button to roll the window down. There was none. All the controls were at the driver's side. She glanced forward scrumptiously. The driver bent slightly and nonchalantly threw a small ball towards Katsura and his former assassin. He swiftly reversed the car and pulled out of the street. Kaoru watched him suspiciously.

It was very strange. Why did he throw that ball? What was it?

The driver bent and pulled an electronic gadget out of his pocket. It seemed like a tape recorder. Kaoru leaned forward. He adjusted the frequency. Suddenly, the voices of Katsura and Kenshin filled the car. He was eavesdropping! Kaoru opened her eyes wide. She had no more time to think about what was going on. The ensuing conversation was too interesting to think about anything else.

"You are still a man of your word." Katsura said. "You said you wouldn't hurt her and you kept your word. Thank you."

"I'm not in the habit of venting my frustration where it doesn't belong."

"You never were." Katsura sighed. "After you left, I realised I hadn't treated you as well I should have. I never found a replacement for you." Kenshin gave him a mocking glance.

Katsura smiled. "Oh I don't mean assassins. Assassins come and go, but a true follower of the cause is rare to find. Even today….I never found anyone who believed in the principle of our struggle as strongly as you did."

"I'm a very rare type of fool."

"Fool? You were never a fool Kenshin."

Kenshin laughed. "You haven't changed one bit Katsura. Still trying to recruit me?"

Katsura looked at him eagerly. "I can give you anything, anything you want. Power, money…..anything. You can take charge anyway you want. Change things, make rules, break rules, do things your way….anything you want."

Kenshin yawned. He flipped his coat aside to reveal a katana strapped to his waist.

"The problem with you Katsura, is that you jump to conclusions and you talk too much. You talk and talk and talk and you _get _on my nerves. I have to use every ounce of control to keep from cutting you into ribbons." Kenshin spoke huskily. His eyes were dark.

Katsura gulped.

"Now, start talking. What happened to Shishio?"

"Shishio…..he joined about a year after you did and as I remember you two were quite friendly."

"You're trying my patience Katsura." He replied warningly.

"well, what do you want to know?" Katsura blurted out.

"I heard an interesting story. I heard that you offered him a berth in government but somehow, a week before his instatement in office, he was killed. You launched an inquiry and found nothing. So…..what happened?"

Katsura took a deep breath. "Kenshin…you must believe me when I tell you this. I had nothing to do with it."

"Just get it over with."

"He was getting too headstrong. Kept coming up with outlandish, irresponsible schemes. He abused his power to bully and pressurise people into agreeing with him. It was getting out of hand."

"He knew too much."

"That's not it. He was getting out of control. Something had to be done! He was insane!"

"So you had him killed."

"I knew nothing about it. I would stopped them if I knew."

"Go on."

"It would never have come to this if only he had kept to his own affairs. But he didn't. He started snooping around, keeping tabs and….he found something. Shishio tried to blackmail us with it. Kenshin….try and understand. There are many hard decisions that have to be taken in war. We took those decisions. Decisions that seem wrong and cruel now but were necessary then. You lived through that time, you know how things went. We couldn't have done anything else!"

"Go on."

"They ambushed him. They had him cornered by firing squad and shot. And then….to make sure he was dead, they burned his body."

Kaoru clamped her hand over her mouth. She stared at the recorder. The voices had stopped. There was an eerie silence.

Katsura shuddered. "Kenshin, believe me. I found out too late. I would never have allowed it if I had known. But they did not tell me until it was all over. I could do nothing."

'You killed him to cover up your own black deeds. You made him a scapegoat."

"Kenshin…please understand. I had nothing against him. I would have done anything to save him but I didn't know! I can't change that."

"You could have stopped them. There's not a single step taken without you knowing Katsura, and don't try telling me otherwise." He turned and started to walk away.

Katsura panicked suddenly. "Kenshin! What are you going to do?"

Kenshin stopped. He turned. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yet."

"Kenshin! I've told you everything you wanted to know! Believe me! I knew nothing! I had nothing to do with it!"

Kenshin kept walking.

Kaoru fell back into the plush seat of the car. The driver shut the recorder and quickly put it away. He jumped out and held the door open for Katsura. Katsura climbed in.

Kaoru sat up immediately. She watched quietly as her uncle mopped his forehead with a large handkerchief. He didn't seem to notice her presence. He was lost in a world of his own.

She licked her lips and took a deep breath. "Uncle?"

Katsura shuddered. He looked up with a start. His face visibly relaxed at the sight of her face.

"Kaoru…child, are you alright? You….I mean….he didn't do anything….did he?"

"He kept his word." she said flatly. Whatever she had heard over the tape recorder had changed her perspective on the events of the past few days. Misao had not lied to her….about anything. She had told her the truth…about Kenshin, and about her uncle. The question was - what was she going to do about it now?

As the car drove away, Kaoru turned to catch a final glimpse of the man who had kidnapped her.

"_Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favourite person."_

"_You look cute. Few women could manage that in a ruined dress and mangled hair but you still do it Miss Kaoru.__"_

"_If that is all the assurance you want, I'__ll make it clear to you. I will never hurt you Miss Kaoru. And I apologise for everything I__'__ve put you through in the past four months.__"_

Kaoru pressed the palm of her hand against the window glass. She was going further and further away from him. And for some peculiar reason, it hurt. It hurt to see him walk away. It hurt to watch him fade into the distance. It hurt to know that she might never see him again.

**Author's note**

Friends, readers, countrymen…I have finally updated something! Yayyyyy. Rejoice!

I hope this chapter lives up to the expectations and hopefully the other stories should be seeing an update soon as well. I will be posting the update to LLE soon.


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